Racing news

LAST RACE, LASTING MEMORIES

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When I look back it could have been a better season. Counting the cost of three DNFs – and the engine blowing up at Oulton – it was like missing 2 rounds: Taken out twice – once at Brands and again at Donington, and a crash at Cadwell trying to avoid hitting a slower rider when I had to start at the back of the grid… none of them my fault. So yes, it was a disappointing season. But I was looking forward to Brands Hatch because I’d finally got the bike to do what I wanted it to do. It was my last race in a full season’s championship and it turned out be a great meeting to end on…and I actually finished all 3 races!


The bike ran great in Friday’s practice although I had to give the first session a miss after a couple of laps. I’d gone out on slicks thinking it would be drying out, but it was deadly round Druids and Clearways so I thought I’d play it safe and pull in. After that, on a dry circuit, I made good progress and my times were getting into the 49’s and 48’s – the bike felt good after making a few suspension changes and I was ready and feeling confident for the weekend’s races and qualifying.

Qualifying was a mixture of dry and damp patches. I think we all struggled with grip, me in particular because my traction control decided to play up again. It just stopped working. It’s done this before where the bike is fine all day and then suddenly I get nothing. The tarmac was cold too and my time was only 50 seconds. Still, it was enough to put me P4 on the second row with a bit of a fighting chance in the afternoon’s race. I checked the electronics and reset the traction control and prayed it would work for Race 1.

It was a good race; the bike felt good and with the traction control working I could get going from the off. I was 4th on the first lap with my old adversary Peter Baker just in front of me. On lap 5, I made a bit of a mistake and Jack Croucher overtook me. I stuck close to him and got him back at Paddock Hill on lap 8. I focussed on Peter Baker for the rest of the race and put a decent gap between me and Jack. I was close to Peter at the end but couldn’t pass him. I took the flag in 4th place and with a faster lap of 48.62 it put me on the front row for Sunday’s Race 2.



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A close battle with Jack Croucher that I won in the end…

 

Overnight rain dampened the track and it took a long time to dry. I had to put the Pirelli wets on to play safe. It was the right thing to do as most of those riders who gambled on a dry set up either crashed or came in. Only 7 of us actually finished the race. It was a difficult 15 laps in drying conditions, my rear tyre was pretty knackered by the end.


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Back on the front row again, but conditions were sketchy…

 

Still, I managed to stay in close contention with Nicky Wilson and Frederico Lopez, who competes in the Clubman Class. He showed really good pace coming past me and finishing in second place. Nicky was 3rd closely followed by me in 4th.


So, it came down to the last race and I wanted to make it a good one as it was going to be my last race at Brands Hatch for a long time.

I was back on the second row for this one, but took off well to slot in behind Josh Wainright for two laps I was right on his tail. Then the race was red-flagged! I thought, ‘Here we go again, just when things are going well, something happens to stop me”. The incident was Peter Baker who high-sided, knocking himself out at Clearways, right behind me. Thankfully, he was OK after being shipped off to hospital for a check-up.

I looked at Dad on the pit wall when we all came around for the restart – I could read what he was thinking – same as me: “Got to do it all again!”. And I did. A good start had me looking down the exhaust of Josh’s Fireblade again. It was dead close for the first few laps and the ZX10-R felt great.


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Swooping into Surtees, I felt more confident than ever…

 

I was strong on the brakes at Druids and Paddock and was much happier than I’ve ever been going through Surtees and could keep close to him, but his Fireblade just hooks up and goes away at Clearways. He was pulling about a 10th of a second there throughout the race.


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Pushing on through Druids, I was really enjoying it…

 

Anyhow, while I was concentrating on what was going on in front of me, my old pal Nicky Wilson was sneaking up behind. It was close at the end and I could hear his bike behind me as I outran him to the line. I was really chuffed with the result, it felt like a win to me after all the problems we’ve had… and, for once, we would all be going home happy for a change.



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A nice end to the weekend and the season…

 

But unfortunately, the increasing costs of racing a full season has finally caught up with me. Right now I just can’t afford to commit to racing a full season. Things are not getting easier with the cost of fuel, tyres and spares. All this, along the increasing costs of circuits which our club Bemsee has no control over, has made it very difficult for me to race in the premiere 1000cc class. Good riders who have that extra cash to spend will definitely have the edge and it’s become impossible for me to afford that high level of spend and commitment to stay at the sharp end for a full season.


I may be back for a couple of rounds, we’ll see how it goes.



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Hanging ‘em up for now…

 

My sponsors have been fantastic.

Chris Dacowan of Loomies Shop and Café in Hampshire supplied me with custom-made, cool-looking Held Leathers. They have always looked the part and lasted well despite the crashes I’ve had. Dave Wheeler and his team at Wossner UK Performance Pistons supplied us with the high-performance piston kits to build two great engines. My season would have finished at Oulton Park if they hadn’t helped me with a new piston kit to build another powerful engine.



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My 2014 Gen 4 Yellow Ninja. Not bad looking for its age…

 

Thanks also to R&G Racing for the crash protection. They’ve never failed, not only in a crash but in their support. Vance and Hines who provided another set of valves all the way from the USA, not to mention, OPIE Oils, Cradley Kawasaki, TBR Performance, Maxton Suspension and OCS Engineering. Everything you guys have done has really helped.

Not forgetting all my friends and family, friends in the paddock and my followers and supporters… thank you.

Ritchie
71


Loomies Café and Shop
Wossner Performance Pistons
Vance & Hines
R&G Racing
OPIE oils
Cradley Kawasaki
TBR Performance
Maxton Suspension
OCS Engineering

Action shots:
Chequered Flag Images.
www.chequeredflagimages.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

Racing news

THUNDERSTRUCK!

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Taken out twice over two rounds has taken away my chances of a decent place in the points this year. Combined with the engine failure at Oulton, when I missed every race – plus the crash at Cadwell – it’s like not turning up for two rounds.

 

STRIKE ONE.

 

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First up is the Brands Hatch GP circuit. It’s the one everyone looks forward to. Only the Bemsee Club hold a meeting on the long track, so it’s not surprising that it attracts riders from other clubs to race there. Unfortunately for me, it was a rider from my old club Thundersport GB that affected my results over the weekend.

I was still running the stock engine as me and dad were still working with the Wossner-powered motor that we only just had ready for Donington Park. Even though I had a standard motor, I was in the 48’s early on with worn out tyres – I always get my money’s worth out of them – and by lunch time I was happy with the way the bike was handling. With new tyres on Saturday morning I knew I could go quicker. So, I took the ZX7-R out in the afternoon as I was planning to race it again in the Ultra class. It started up right away, all good. Out on the track there was some vibration through the bars which surprised me as the bike ran faultlessly at Oulton Park.

 

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Checking out the ZX7-R to find a mysterious handling problem…

 

Something wasn’t right. All we had done was change a rear sprocket! So, me and dad checked the head stock the bearings, wheel alignment and the brakes to see if anything was catching and I took it out for the last session. It felt a bit better but it was still there. It had me scratching my head. Saturday morning and I was all set on the ZX10-R, and qualifying was a success with a 1:31.3 – a personal best – that put me P4 on the second row. I was feeling pretty confident with the bike handling so well and I was hoping for a good result in Race 1.

 

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After a good qualifying position, I could wait to get started…

 

I got away well and stayed close to the front runners on the first couple of laps. The pace was fierce, but the ZX10-R felt great so I just let the bike go. I felt good everywhere. My lap times got better and better and I started to close in on Sam Osbourne. My pit board told me that Luke Dixon was only 0.5 behind and I had to concentrate to hold him off. Towards the end of the race I could see the gap between me and Sam Osborne becoming less and less. On the last lap, with the leaders still in sight, I went passed Sam at Paddock Hill. I was third! My chance of a podium at last after all the problems we’d had. I could taste it.

 

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The XZ10-R felt good. It was spot on everywhere…

 

It was beginning to feel like a victory until I got to Stirlings and Sam had a go up the inside of me. He lost the front trying and hit my back wheel sending me off into the gravel. I tried to save it but the tyre wall was coming up too fast and I had to lay the bike down. Me and the bike both hit the tyre wall hard. Luckily, I was relatively unscathed and the bike wasn’t too bad either.

 

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A few scuffs – the R&G Crash protectors did their job well…

 

Sam’s bike was a right mess and I think he had to go home later. He came to apologise after, which is fair enough. He did look genuinely sorry. He just completely misjudged me on the brakes. The last lap would have been the first time he had followed me so I guess he wouldn’t have known how late I could leave it at Stirlings. So that was the end of that.

 

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A bit of after-crash help and encouragement from Peter Baker…

 

I had entered for the Ultra races on the ZX7-R too and it was just one race in between, so I dusted myself down, drank a load of water and before I knew it, I was back on the grid again.

Anyway, after the warm-up lap I decided to pull in as the slight vibration was back again. Having just crashed in the Powerbikes, I didn’t want to risk another one.

 

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Sunday warm up to another hot sunny day…

 

Race 2 in Powerbikes was a better affair even though my traction control wasn’t working (One thing after another). Although I initially got it wrong on the start I managed to maintain a steady 5th place. I realised I could go much faster, so I started to really push and overtook Luke Wallington on lap 7. I survived some big moments. With no traction control I had a massive slide that had me right out of the seat at Sheene and hanging on for grim death. I came down and landed on the tank and the bike settled itself. It was a close one! Anyway, my pit board told me that Rick Dickinson was on my tail so I kept the hammer down and beat him in a drag to the line. It was a great race and one that I needed after the day before.


So, after all that, it was a quick change over to try out the ZX7-R again. The bike actually felt better the faster I went, but on lap 5 when approaching Druids on the brakes the front started to chatter and got worse. I lost the front and down I went. Not much damage, but I still don’t know why I get so much chatter and vibration on the front.

Anyway, for last race of the day I managed to fix and reset the ZX10-R’s traction control with the hope it would work.

 

I was still on 2nd row, but P5 this time as Rick Dickinson had just pipped me on time. I hate being in the middle and I didn’t get such a good start. We all bunched up and I got stuck behind Rick with Luke Wallington just in front. Rick managed to get passed him early on but I just couldn’t seem to find a way past Luke and I was concerned in case the traction stopped working again unexpectedly. It was hard to convince myself to trust it would always be there.

 

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With the traction control working again my confidence returned…

 

I was almost running into the back of him at times and had to back off going into the corners. I got him in the end though. Once I was passed him I got going with more confidence in the traction control which seemed to be behaving itself. But the leading group had long gone and there was no way I could catch them at that point, so I settled for 5th place.

 

Looking back, the crash was a tough one to take after all our hard work. Someone said they heard the commentator say, “Ritchie Thornton must be the most-unluckiest rider in the paddock” well after ZX7-R went down again, I’m inclined to agree.

 

Still, I have to take heart from the fact that a 1:30.3 lap is the fastest I have ever achieved at the GP circuit and I may never go there again – 2 seconds quicker than last year – and on a bike with a stock motor, was not all bad!


STRIKE TWO!

 

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Working against the clock to finish the new engine…

 

Me and Dad finished building the new engine with Wossner pistons the weekend before and bolted it into the frame late Sunday night. All was good and it sounded great. Then I had to run the bike in on the Tuesday after work and it was about 2 in the morning when I finally got to bed. Still I was happy to have a strong motor back for Donington – a circuit I really like.

 

I had a few issues in practice with the bike cutting out so I missed a session trying to trace the fault. It was the ignition switch in the end so I just had to loop it with a connector. After that I was just praying it wouldn’t rain as forecast so we could get some fast laps in. It rained just before going out on the last session which caught everyone out. We went to the holding bay and down it came. Wasn’t worth risking a crash so I gave it a miss along with the majority of the other riders.

We were lucky with the weather all weekend really and it remained fairly warm and dry for qualifying.

 

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Left it late again…you can see my best lap- on lap 10!!

 

Early on I was having trouble with traffic struggled between 10th and 8th positions. It wasn’t until the last lap when I got a clear run that I was able to hit a 1:11.2 which was good enough to put me up a few places to a P5 on the second row.

 

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Ready for the 10-lap race. I knew I could go quicker with new tyres…

 

I got a decent start, but was baulked on the exit from Redgate by Peter Baker. He started to run wide and rolled off, so I had to as well. That allowed others to come shooting past. It’s not easy in this class when the front runners get away. I knew then that it would be hard to get back to the sharp end. I was 5th for 2 laps then Seamus McGlynn came past me on lap 3, but I soon got him back and managed to stretch a good 4.5 second gap between me and the riders behind. It was a bit of a lonely race after that. The really good thing though, was my lap times; they were fairly consistent, in the 1:10’s and that was encouraging for Sundays races.

 

I had planned to take the ZX7-R out for a run in Sunday morning’s warm-up session, just to check to see if handling problems I had at Brands Hatch would happen at Donington. Unfortunately, it rained early on and the conditions were too sketchy… so I left it parked up in the garage. By the time the Powerbikes race came around, the track was dry and the sun was actually trying make an appearance. Conditions were perfect for this 14-lapper!

 

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From second row to second place…

 

A good start again from row 2 had me in second spot going into Redgate. I thought, “I’m away here”. This was exactly what I wanted – to be at the front at the start. But it didn’t last long. It was Peter Baker again who came from nowhere.

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He hit me hard and accelerated right through me, taking me out of the race completely. The next thing I knew I was in the gravel. Me and the bike tumbling until we came to a stop.

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Taken out for the second time in two consecutive meetings…

 

I was absolutely furious, he gave me no room and no warning. My crash helmet was ruined (another one gone) but the bike wasn’t too bad once we stripped it down. All I needed was a front brake reservoir, which my good friend Drew Plaskitt kindly bought for me after running up to get one from Alan at A&R. I was sharing a garage with Peter and he came over with his head in his hands. We had a few words, but in the end, it wasn’t worth falling out over. Sure, it was a reckless move, but nobody does things like that on purpose. Anyway, I had a bike to fix and get scrutineered for the next race. I had to start from P11 on the 5th row, because I hadn’t completed a lap. Sometimes I think I’m going backwards in this class!

 

I got a reasonable start but really couldn’t achieve more than 8th place on the first lap. My pace was good though and I could see that if I could get past Rick Dickinson and a couple of others I would be in a strong position, maybe a podium at last. Rick started pushing through and I followed him overtaking the others in our group. Once I got through the group Rick was next on my list. His Panigale is quick, but on lap 8, I got such good drive out of Coppice I was able to out-brake him into the chicane – I almost lost the front doing it too!

 

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Without a clue, as to what position I was in during Race 3 – I just kept on the pace…

 

I didn’t know it at the time, but at that point I was 3rd. Middlemas was about 3 seconds in front, so I just concentrated on doing good laps and managed to pull a decent gap ahead of Rick. I had no idea where I had finished and was confused when Mum, Dad and my mates in the garage were clapping when I came in. It was bad luck for Nicky Wilson – who was well ahead – he unfortunately crashed out on the last corner, which meant I picked up second spot. Although I was still gutted about being taken out, getting a podium and a medal went some way to making me feel a bit better.

 

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A silver medal for the Yellow Ninja…

 

So, on to the final round at Brands Hatch in a couple of weeks. This will be last championship race too. The cost of racing has become too much and with a lot of other things going on in my life it’s just not feasible to commit to a full season.

 

Thanks to everyone who has supported me. Friends, garage buddies, my loyal sponsors and supporters who have stuck by me over the many years.

See you at Brands.

 

Ritchie 71

Sponsors:
Wossner Performance Pistons
Loomies Café and Shop
Vance & Hines
R&G Racing
OPIE oils
Cradley Kawasaki
TBR Performance
Maxton Suspension
OCS Engineering


Action Images:
Laura Reid
Chequered Flag Images

Racing news

WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME

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Cadwell Park, one of my favourite circuits, but after my engine exploded at Oulton Park it was touch and go whether I would make it. With only a couple of weeks between the meetings, we had to get our skates on.


Our sponsor Wossner Pistons were fantastic and sent us a new set of their High-Performance pistons for the ZX10-R. We had the option of a couple of engines – one complete and another in bits – from an old Thundersport mate, Josh Leaning. He said he would sell them to me together for a decent price and we picked everything up from a friend of his who was passing close by in his van at the weekend. Knowing that it was impossible to build another Wossner powered motor in time, I decided to stick the complete stock motor in the bike just to get up to the track in time.

 

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Back to stock, a second-hand, 8,000-mile motor was better than nothing…

 

This also proved time consuming as I wanted to replace the head gasket, check all the valve clearances, adjust valve timing and install the Gen 5 gearbox. Me and Dad were up ‘til 4 in the morning preparing the engine so it could be hauled into the frame and started. Well, we managed it and we fired her up a couple of days later. There was a lot of smoke at first and this was a real worry until it started to clear. There must’ve been quite a bit of oil blown into the exhaust when the previous engine blew up. After a few runs the engine sounded healthy enough, so we crossed fingers, put the fairing on and loaded up the van. Yes, it was that tight!

 

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Running well and looking good –the ZX10-R was ready to roll up the ramp and into the van…

 

At Cadwell Park we managed to get set up quite quickly the night before and be ready for practice. The bike actually felt strong, but judging it against the other bikes in my class I was definitely losing out on top end power particularly down the long straight up to Park Corner. I knew before the morning sessions had finished that corner would be my weak point. It’s one of the few places you can actually pass someone at Cadwell and it’s where I would be most vulnerable with the stock engine.

 

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Making changes made the bike easier to ride and turn… things went well in practice…

 

Still, I’d rather be at a track than be stuck at home! I made a few changes to the bike to improve things. One significant change was going back to a Pirelli 120 front tyre. The bike handled so much better and at the end of the day I was running 1:33 laps and didn’t feel as shattered. The bike was so much easier to ride and felt more natural to me.

We had a good walk round the track in the evening, joined by our old pal Neil Chantry from the Thundersport days, who had spotted us from his traditional, caravan viewpoint at Charlies. It was great to see him again. So, at the end of the day, I felt I’d done all I could with what I had to work with and was feeling good about qualifying and racing on the Saturday.

 

In qualifying the weather was nice and dry and with new tyres on I managed P6 with a 1:33.3. On the timesheet, there wasn’t much between us – apart from Josh Wainwright – so I was quite pleased with my position. If I could get away well in the race I knew I would be able to hold my own. It would be difficult to defend at Park because I was down on power, but I was quick through all the turns; particularly through the Gooseneck, the Chicane and the woodland section. These would be my strong points if I was able to settle in and didn’t get held up.

 

Race 1 was a complete disaster. An incident in the last lap of the previous race had everyone waiting to go on circuit. I always go on the last call… and it never came. Those who had gone down to the collecting area earlier were on the track before I realised what was happening. It wasn’t just me either. Rick Dickinson, who I got to know quite well over the weekend, was parked nearby and he was waiting too. By the time we got to the gate we had both missed the warm-up lap and were instructed to start at the back of the grid. This was so frustrating after all the hard work me and Dad had put in to get the bike somewhere near the front.

 

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Me and Rick Dickinson were waiting for the ‘last call’ that never came, it had us waiting again at the gate before the start of Race 1…

 

It’s a long way to catch up from the back. I wasn’t very happy at all. I tried to make up positions on the first lap, it was chaotic and risky. Still, I managed to make up a few places as we approached the bottom of the Mountain section. That’s when it all went wrong. All the riders in front of me put the brakes on a lot earlier than I expected. I was right on top of another rider so quickly I almost hit him. I went down trying avoid a collision and taking him out.

 

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Down and out! A close shave as the riders behind almost hit me…

 

I felt sick. My leathers were completely torn out at the front and my custom-painted crash helmet was ruined. I had to sit the race out without completing a lap, knowing that I would have to start at the back again. I was going backwards at a circuit where I should be going forwards.

Dad went into remonstrate with the organisers in the office about why there wasn’t a last call, but the fact is, it couldn’t really change anything. The damage had been done. I could understand Dad’s fury, but I had to think about repairing a bike that wouldn’t even start, and get it ready for Sunday’s races.

We had to push start it to get it to fire up and later took the starter motor apart and the magnets must’ve dislodged in the crash. They were binding up with the internal motor. It just wouldn’t spin properly, it was useless.

 

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Starting was a real issue after the starter motor packed up…thank God for the roller!

 

Sunday morning, once the bike was scrutineered, we had to camp up near the scrutineering shed to get enough power for the roller starter we use to start the ZX7-R. The generator just doesn’t have the muscle to turn over the engine.

 

In Race 2 I was pleasantly surprised that my grid position wasn’t at the back as indicated on the sheet, but P12. A bit of good fortune at last and I made the most of it with a decent start. I made good progress throughout the race. I was catching Peter Baker and thought I could get 4th but he managed hold me off in a drag to the line and I finished 5th. It was a tough race, but I was very pleased to push my way up to a good position after what had happened. I’d also put myself back on the 2nd row again, where I was on Saturday!

 

Our old friend Drew Plaskitt turned up to watch. He lives in Louth and has been a loyal supporter for a long time. He actually said I could ride his bike, a BMW, if I couldn’t get mine started. Although it was a proving to be yet another ‘one-of-those-weekends’, it was so good to see him again.

 

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A different look for Sunday. After the crash, my usual helmet and leathers were failed by the scrutineers…

 

The last race was a bit of a let-down, after so many incidents during the day all races had to be cut short to 6 laps. I made a decent start again. Josh Wainwright did his usual clear off at the front which left a close contest for the remaining positions. Sam Cox lead our group and seemed to be backing us all up. I had to roll off at times going into Hall Bends. I was in 5th position and found it hard to get past Peter Baker who eventually pushed his way past Luke Dixon. I couldn’t get the run I needed to get alongside him at Park Corner. I tried the Hairpin at the end of Hall Bends, but that was proving too risky as I couldn’t get the run to get alongside Luke. I was getting frustrated and on the last lap I knew that Nicky Wilson, who was lurking behind me for most of the race, would have a go at the end of the straight at Park. Sure enough, he did. It was a clean pass that I couldn’t do much about. I followed him through the remaining corners hoping to have a go at him through Hall Bends, but he was quite good through there and it was too risky to try and make a move. I had to settle for 6th, but it was close!

 

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Ready to pack up for the long road home…

 

Not a great weekend, after the disappointment of Oulton Park it made us all feel worse. The long journey home gave us time to reflect and try to put it all into perspective. Yes, it was better to be there than not to be, but we agreed that after the effort we had put in to get the bike ready, we deserved a bit more from a difficult weekend. I knew I had the pace, even with a stock motor, but I could only prove it in the last race on Sunday. It was a case of me being a victim of circumstances. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time created a perfect storm in Saturday’s race when everything went against me.

 

In the meantime, we are working on an engine rebuild with new Wossner pistons, but we will be running the stock engine again for Brands Hatch. I have no choice with work commitments and such a short break between meetings.

Should be ready for Donington though – with a bit of luck – after the summer holidays.

We’ll see how we go.

Ritchie 71

 

Racing news

BROKEN!

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What I thought was an unbreakable engine after finishing the Snetterton round proved to be otherwise; after only 2 laps of practice at Oulton Park, it blew up!

 

Oulton is one of those circuits I love…when it all goes right. Last year my lap times on the ZX-10R were in the 1:42’s, so I was looking forward to setting a good pace this year.

Having had time to think about the bike’s handling issues and more time to fix the throttle response, I was ready to go.

 

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Two bikes all set and ready to go…

 

It was a lovely sunny morning when I rolled out on to the Cheshire tarmac. First lap nice and easy, bike was feeling good. Then on to the second lap, bang went the motor. Luckily, I was at the side of the track and managed to get on to the grass quickly. When the smoke had finally cleared I could see a hole in the front of the crankcase. The con rod on number 3 cylinder had snapped!

 

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Gutted, the shrapnel after the explosion! Remnants of our ZX10-R motor...

 

That was the end of the weekend for the ZX10-R. But thankfully, not the end of the weekend for me, although we were still in for a few problems ahead.

So, we parked the main bike and put the warmers on my old Golden Era Superbike – the Kawasaki ZX7-R. I had entered it in the Thunderbike Ultra Class because I thought that the bike could do with a good run for a change. I was glad I did otherwise I would’ve been going home.

 

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With the ZX10-R back in the van, it was time to focus on the old champ again…

 

It took all day to get the bike to run properly. Not surprising really, as It had been stood for quite a while at home. After every session, it was off with the tank to tweak the flat-side carbs. The bike seemed to want to run on into the corners. The tick over was hanging high before settling down, and it was unsettling me.

The bike felt awful on the front as well. It was juddering as I braked into the corner. We checked the brake pads and they were well past their best. I had some new ones in the van, but that still didn’t solve the problem. So, we checked the head race bearings at the end of the day and sure enough there was a slight amount of movement. We dropped the forks out and with a bit of help from Peter Baker and a few of the other lads in the garage we cleaned all the bearings and replaced the old grease with new and when it all went back in the bike felt so much smoother turning the bars. A busy day again, but at least we had got the ZX7-R track ready at last. All set for qualifying on Friday.

 

Rain came early in the morning to dampen hopes of a good lap time for qualifying. I was second session out..

The ZX7-R has never been an easy bike to ride in the wet, but I just needed to get a decent spot on the grid for Race 1 as the weather forecast said it would stay dry for the rest of the day. We swapped the wheels for the wets and as I rode up to the to the holding bay I could feel the bike wobbling on the front. The front wheel I recently bought was slightly bent and I could feel it. I got back to the garage and Dad quickly pulled the other wet wheel and tyre out of the van for ZX10-R which fits with wider spacers. As soon as that was in I rode down to the holding bay – bike not wobbling – only to be turned away as the session finished. I would have to start at the back of the grid for the first race. Not where I wanted to be!

Anyway, as I’d entered the Powerbikes I could at least try the ZX7-R out in their qualifying session. I managed P22. Against all the Powerbikes I was getting murdered on the ZX7-R. The track was actually drying lap by lap with the sun beginning to come through and even though I would be at the back later in the Ultra class, I was really looking forward to it.

 

In Race 1, I was so far back I could hardly see the lights and when we set off I had to roll off. Riders were weaving in front of me and slowing up. Then I saw the yellow flags waiving and realised there must have been a staller on the grid somewhere. For safety’s sake, I just followed everyone through; dead last into the first corner. Then I got cracking, but it was a sketchy start with me passing riders and them coming past me on the power. We were all backing each other up. Not surprisingly, the ZX7-R struggles against the 170bhp limit in this class.

 

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Keeping my corner speed up, I soon found form closer to where I used to be…

 

Still, I just had to keep the momentum going and overtook 3 bikes round the outside of Shell Oils at one point. That was fun! Once I settled into a clear position I could see the guys in front and started to make some head way, finishing 6th. I later found out that one rider was penalised for overtaking on a yellow flag and another disqualified, which put me 4th on the sheet.

 

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A 1:48 lap placed me 4 th for race 2. I knew I could do better…

 

The bike felt OK but was still running on – like there was no engine braking.

 

After a wait that seemed like ages we were called for race 2: This turned out to be a complete nightmare. Not just for me but for the other riders too. They called us to the holding bay and kept us waiting while they collected fallen riders from the previous race. Why on earth they can’t let us know when the track is clear and call us then just seems to escapes me.

 

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Sitting on the grid for 5 minutes is not good for any bike, but it’s worse for mine…

 

So, we’re all sitting there with tyres getting cold and my engine getting hotter and hotter. I also have no starter motor on the ZX7-R either. This is to reduce the weight, so I have to push start if I turn it off. I was just about 80 degrees when the Marshall called us to the grid. Problem then was they kept us waiting another 5 minutes and I had turn the engine off at boiling point. You wouldn’t believe it, but about 10 seconds after I hit the kill switch they flagged to start. Despair! One of the start Marshalls tried to help with a couple of pushes, but when the bike is that hot it will not start.

I had to push the bike off the circuit and watch from the side. The race was red-flagged after 3 laps and when I pushed it to start and ride it back…it started first time! Wouldn’t believe it, would you? I had to start in 10th place on Saturday.

 

Another frustrating day, so me and Dad went for a walk round the circuit to stretch our legs, talk things over and try to calm down. Walking round I started to think about the engine braking issue and decided that while the oil was out of the bike I’d get the clutch out and replace one of the plates with a thicker one. Nothing to lose, it was worth a try.

Well, it worked because in Race 4 the ZX7-R was beginning to feel like it’s old self again braking into the corners was so much better. After a fairly good start I was riding in 5th place. With the gap closing on the riders in front, I was enjoying the chase. Then one rider made a mistake at the chicane, and had to run on and this put me up to 4th. Then the other rider ran wide allowing me to take advantage and finish 3 rd. I was well pleased, and the lap times – a 1:45.9 – put me on the front row… where I like to be!

 

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Just like old times, back on the front row again…

 

In the last race I got an even better start from the front row and was running second up to the chicane after Shell Oils. At this point the rider in front backed us all up and I lost my drive out and up the rise just after. This allowed quite a few of the more powerful bikes to come past me – it was hard work after that. Still, I managed to pass a few more and I didn’t know what position I was. All I could see was Mark Wilby and I was reeling him in lap after lap eventually overtaking him on the exit of Shell Oils. Pleased with the move I was in 4 th and on the last lap Wallington crashed at Lodge and I finished 3 rd again.

 

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Two nice bronze medals from Bemsee…

 

A couple of medals for our efforts dulled the pain of the broken ZX10-R but when I think of how it could have been, it still nags at me. Mainly because, even if I just repeated last year’s times, I would’ve been in the top 3 at least.

 

I’d like to thank all the lads in the garage, like Peter Baker, Harry Hinchcliffe, my old mate Martin Stanier who came to watch and Andy Scanlon, who rides in the Extreme Class for their support, without there encouragement it would’ve been a lot more depressing that’s for sure.

 

Now we have to think about what to do with the broken ZX10-R, it’s not going to easy. Once again, a big thanks to those who have helped me so far and to all my sponsors.

 

Loomies Café and Shop

Wossner Performance Pistons

Vance & Hines

R&G Racing

OPIE oils

Cradley Kawasaki

TBR Performance

Maxton Suspension

OCS Engineering

 

Ritchie 71

Racing news

UP TO SPEED? NOT QUITE.

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After making so many changes to the ZX10-R to improve the way the bike runs and handles over the previous rounds, it was at Snetterton in Round 3 that – even more so – really highlighted all the snags.

In practice, I found the throttle was still ‘snatchy’. It was the old problem I thought I’d fixed at Silvertone. I just couldn’t get the bike to be smooth, particularly around Coram Curve. It was either on or off, like a switch, not a smooth response at all. This took up most of my time trying to sort it out in the garage with the computer, changing numbers and changing the map but in the end, it had to be a physical change to the throttle stop. As there isn’t an idle adjustment on the throttle stop to get the tick over higher we had to make something up to test it. Using tape on the stop actually worked and helped a lot when I took the bike out to test it, but unfortunately the experiment failed on the last lap of the second to last session. The bike surged forward as I was braking entering Murrays, just before the start finish straight, and I crashed. The bike was quite badly damaged and didn’t stop sliding and tumbling until it hit the tyre wall.

 

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Good job we had a spare fairing and exhaust ready to go… but we’re still left with a bit of patching up to do at home.

 

It took me and Dad until nearly midnight to fix the bike up and to create a better, more permanent job of increasing the throttle position on the stop. Sure enough, when we had something solid in place the sensor was reading a constant 0.5% throttle on the computer. It sounded happy with a higher tick over too and it picked up much better. I figured the bike was going to be OK and was pleased that I had another day of practice on the Friday to get to grips with the bike, concentrating on the circuit and lap times again.

 

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All set for another day of solving problems. Thanks to R&G Racing for a new set of crash protectors...

 

Our garage buddy Harry Hinchcliffe was on his own to start with – not easy when you’re a rookie – and was having problems getting his bike to run. So, while we were working on ours, we were helping him check all the electrics on his bike too. It was a busy night and we noticed some wiring that needed attention. Thankfully it fired up, but in the morning, it wouldn’t idle properly. So together we took the tank off, checked the pump and fuel filter and put it all back, only then to find out that it was a kink in the fuel line when the tank went on. An easy fix and Harry, after a hectic morning, he was ready to roll!

 

The weather was really good for a change, a bit like last year, sunny and quite warm, and after the first session I felt much better now that the bike was running smoothly. Problem solved, or so I thought.

There was yet to be another problem emerging that I just couldn’t put my finger on.

 

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I felt like I was really on it, pushing hard, but my laps were well off last year’s times.

 

My lap times were disappointing, I barely got into the 1:59’s. Whereas, last year I was doing 1:57’s in practice on a circuit I hadn’t ridden before. In the races, I was down to 1:54’s; a time that would have had me up with the leaders this year!

 

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In between all the messing about it was good to catch up with some old mates, like Aiden Patmore who stopped by for a chat…

 

I was totally confused by all this and I thought that with new tyres for qualifying on Saturday, it would definitely be better.

Well, it was bit. I had loads of grip but could only hit 1:57 which put me P7 on the grid for race 1.

Something wasn’t right. I thought it must me, because my arms were getting tired quickly and felt like I had no energy. I was shattered after qualifying.

Luckily there was a bit of time before the race to have a break, so we just checked the throttle stop again to make sure nothing had moved and put on a new rear tyre. I didn’t know what else to do other than just go out and do my best.

I got a good start and was right up with the leaders, nearly running into the back of them at the sharp right just before the infield section. I held on to them for a while but I could see them pulling away as the race went on. Thing is, when I looked at the sector times my bike was fine in sector 1, but sector 2 – the infield twisty part – I was losing time. This is usually my strongest part of the track and last year I was able to make good progress there. This year I was a couple of tenths slower…it all adds up over 10 laps!

Anyway, I was running in 7th spot when Sam Smith made a mistake at the end of the back straight and I was able to move up and finished 6th. The race was red-flagged on the 9th lap.

 

I was suffering from arm pump towards the end of the race, not something I’ve ever had on road race machine. It was common when I did motocross, but I never had it as bad as other competitors. This got me thinking that maybe it was the front tyre. I had arm pump at Donington Park last year when I first started using the 125X70 Pirrelli as opposed to my usual 120X70 Metzeler. It was the only thing that was different.

So that night me and Dad decided to put the bike’s geometry and settings back to mirror the previous year to see if it would be any benefit. I increased the tyre pressure a couple of PSI to see if that would help and in the warm up session it did seem better. Although, only a race would prove whether or not it really had made any difference.

 

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A third-row start, but still managed to get away well with the leaders…

 

I was starting in the same 7th spot on the grid for race 2 and got away well again. First few laps were good and felt like the bike was behaving itself, but I kept losing time in the twisty section again. I knew it when my mate Peter Baker came past me, last year we were all over each other in a thrilling race, but this year it was different. I didn’t have the feel or feedback from the front that I usually get and it was making it hard work – sapping time and energy. Peter just pulled away and to his credit finished 2nd. It had to be the tyre. I was getting arm pump again too. I finished a disappointing 6th place for the second time.

 

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Lap time was enough to put me on the second row – P6 for the start of Race 3…

 

The increased tyre pressure seemed to help a bit, so I decided to increase it a little more for the last race of the day. There wasn’t much else I could do. It was a mistake and the bike was bouncing on the front end. It felt terrible and I was ragged most of the time. Just holding on to another 6th position after the race was red-flagged on lap 7. It was called as a result which I was kind of pleased about, as I didn’t feel like going out again on the bike until I’ve sorted things out. I reckon it’s best to go back to the 120 Metzeler for now – if I can get them – as I’m wasting races and time trying to make it work with the Pirelli. It was a real struggle and I still got arm pump for the third time over the weekend.

 

Next round is Oulton Park where I usually go well once I’m dialled in. Hopefully I can sort out this last problem with the bike as everything else seems to be working really well.

 

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Might even take the ZX7-R up for this round, I always fun riding the old champ at Oulton.

 

We’ll see you there.

 

Big thanks to those who have helped me so far and to all my sponsors.

 

Loomies Café and Shop

Wossner Performance Pistons

Vance & Hines

R&G Racing

OPIE oils

Cradley Kawasaki

TBR Performance

Maxton Suspension

OCS Engineering

 

Top Image:

Garry Clarke. Rock and Roll Photography

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=rockandrollphotographs&set=a.418671316930278

 

Ritchie 71

Racing news

SNOWTIME AT SILVERSTONE

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Biting winds, snow, hale and temperatures down to minus 4˚ at times... welcome to Silverstone!

Not ideal for racing motorcycles, but things worked out pretty well considering I’m not that keen on the track and haven’t been there for almost 13 years. The circuit has changed quite a lot too, by taking out the chicane before the start-finish straight has made it much better in my opinion. The fast exit from the last corner ate rubber, but was great fun.

The bike felt so much better to ride now that I’d refined most of the issues with the engine breaking – the throttle response has improved too. It’s was all beginning to make a difference, particularly at the speeds you reach at Silverstone; it's a very fast track.


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It was more like Coldstone over the weekend…


Friday practice was bitterly cold with some sunny intervals that didn’t seem to make much difference with the wind howling through the garage. Still, with the bike feeling better, it didn't take me to long to get some decent lap times in during practice on a very cold and abrasive track which just ripped through my tyres. The fast right hander, just before the start-finish straight, is taken at about 130mph and completely destroyed the right-hand side of the rear tyre – I had to change it more times than I thought I would over the weekend… which got colder and colder.


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The bike seemed much happier with the changes I made…

Happy with the way the bike was running and handling, my confidence in pushing it started to grow. I knew I could go faster and qualified better than I thought I would: P9 on the Saturday morning put me on the 3rd row. I might’ve done better because with 5 minutes left of qualifying my predicted lap was 58 seconds. Unfortunately, a bike blew up down the long back straight, right in front of me and a couple of other riders. There was smoke, steam and oil everywhere and I couldn’t see a thing. My visor was covered in oil. One guy actually took to the grass at well over a 100mph. I was glad there was nothing on the track, it could’ve been nasty if there was. Anyway, the qualifying session was red flagged and that was that.


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A quick lap in qualifying was cut short by a bike exploding in front of me…

In Race 1, I had a good start and progressed to maintain a strong 5th place until the red flags came out again; this time because of snow at first, followed quickly by icy hale-stones which came down just as we hit the main straight. The stuff was drifting in the wind across the tarmac and I thought there’s no way we can finish this race; sure enough, the red flags were waiving once more.

The race was rerun after lunchtime and was down to a 6-lap dash. I finished 6th a with a faster lap time of 58.3 seconds which bumped me up to P6, on the second row for Sunday. Much better!

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A second-row spot in 6th place left me a clear view ahead…

Just before dinner I changed the engine breaking numbers again on the computer. Although the bike was much better, I still felt like I could improve it further. That night temperature dropped to minus 4 degrees, even with the heater on in the caravan it was cold.

In the morning, I just managed to get the bike remapped and my leathers on in time for the warm–up. It was hard to tell after one lap but it seemed OK and I was ready for the next race.

It was the best race of the weekend for me. Once I got going I actually stayed with the front group for quite a while achieving my goal of a 57 second lap. Silverstone is a very different circuit from most of the others on our racing calendar – dead flat, mostly all right handers apart from one – and Copse is blind as you enter it, you just can’t see the apex and if you tip in too early you end up going across the ripple strip. If you’re too late, you’re thrown out wide onto the run off area on the other side. It’s tricky when there are three of you all trying out brake each other flat out in 6th gear. It got a bit hairy at times.


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Fast, close action with just hundredths of a second between us…

It was a great race and I enjoyed a good tussle with Ben Cotgrove on his Yamaha R1 over the last few laps, doing just enough to pass him on the last lap to nick 5th place. The bike felt strong and I was beginning to feel like I was riding it without having to fight it and force it to do what I wanted it to do.

With a better result, and much better lap times than I thought I would ever get at Silverstone, I was keen to get moving early on in the last race of the day. I got a good start too, but the first lap was messy and very frustrating. The riders in front of me were so erratic I was having difficulty trying to pass; they were holding me up and at one point I almost hit the pair of them. We all ran wide at Copse corner forcing me off the track and on to the tarmac run off - probably about 120 mph! A stone ricocheted off my visor so hard it felt like I’d been shot at! This allowed those behind me to nip through and I had to fight it out in the end with my old mate Peter Baker over the last few laps.


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Close scrutiny from Peter Baker (Number 2) went down to the very last lap...

We kept passing each other – it was like a duel – but he had the last laugh, squeezing past me at Maggots and I had to settle for 8th place as we crossed the line. What didn’t help much was that I had to race without my new instrument display. I had no idea what was going on with my lap times or my bike for that matter. I just had to get on with it and hope for the best.

After the race, I checked my lap times on Mum’s phone and they weren’t far off the lads at the front for the majority of the race – 57 seconds – which was very encouraging, until the final lap when Rob Collins and Josh Wainwright put in a 56-sec burst. So, it was a good weekend after all, at a circuit I really didn't think I'd do well at.

Also, the best thing is the bike is now much better to ride. It felt much more natural to me. And that's got to be good even though it’s taken a couple of rounds to get there.

I’ve got a bit of work to do on the bike before Snetterton, like sorting out the display unit (hope it’s not broken) and checking the valve clearances, but I think I’m in better shape than I was at Brands Hatch.

Let’s see how it goes at Snett next month.


Big thanks to those who have helped me so far and to all my sponsors.

Loomies Café and Shop
Wossner Performance Pistons
Vance & Hines
R&G Racing
OPIE oils
Cradley Kawasaki
TBR Performance
Maxton Suspension
OCS Engineering

Images:
JTW Photography
https://jtwmotorsportphotography.zenfolio.com

Rachel Bourne Photography
https://bournephoto.photoshelter.com/portfolio/G0000yhF_KztAr2U

Marc Cuthbert
https://www.flickr.com/photos/markcuthbert/albums/72177720297655157/with/51985120125/

 

You can see Race 3 here:


Ritchie 71

 

Racing news

EVERYTHING CHANGES

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I’ve made quite a few changes to the ZX10-R over the winter. Incorporating Gen 5 electronics to improve the traction control, performance and handling was just one of them.

The time we had to test everything at the Donington Park and Brands Hatch track days, after running it on the dyno with Matt Wren at TBR Performance,  wasn’t really enough to get my head round the dramatic differences in the bike. The engine breaking was a real issue, and I really didn’t manage to sort that out until the last day of racing over the weekend. It still needs some adjustment, but I hope to have it all sorted for the next round at Silverstone.

Anyway, enough of that for now, because it was great to back on the track and actually racing again!

I was expecting it to be tough with the weather forecast. Why does it always seem to rain at the weekends?


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Warmers on and ready for practice… it was a busy day.

Practice on Friday was dry to begin with and I managed to get some decent laps in – going a second quicker than the previous track day in the first session… straight into the 49’s, which was a good place to be early on. However, going faster magnified issues with the bike - particularly the engine breaking. The bike just wouldn’t settle itself, and was hard work entering corners like Graham Hill and Surtees. So, it was out with the computer to hook it up to the ECU and start changing a few numbers. In the afternoon it rained, so I couldn’t really test the changes I’d made at lunchtime. The bike did feel a bit better, but it was hard to really tell in the wet.

Qualifying on Saturday morning was around 11 o’clock and I was keeping my eye on the weather again. Luckily it stayed dry for our session, but I went slower than I did the day before - the bike just wasn’t smooth enough for me and was sliding around a lot more than usual, especially on left handers which was confusing me and very unusual.

I was becoming very frustrated and beginning to despair, wondering if the changes I’d made were actually going to be worth it. I thought a new tyre would help, so I quickly changed to a new front and rear slick ready to race later in the afternoon.

Qualifying in 10th position was not where I wanted to be on the 4th row for the first race, but I got a decent start and quickly found the pace I needed to stay in touch. It was an exciting race and I managed to finish in 7th place, eventually reducing my lap times into the 48’s at last. This put me on the third row for Sundays races which I was pleased about. I was making positive progress.


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The sun was out on Saturday…Sunday in the wet was another story…

The Gen 5 traction control felt much better than last year, but at one point it didn’t kick in ‘til very late. And, instead of looking around the corner just before you enter the straight at the end of Clearways, it went so far sideways I was actually looking down the pit lane! I was out of the seat, up the air, and as I was just about to let go of the bars, I landed back on the seat when the bike finally came back round. Luck was with me this time.

I was still struggling with the engine breaking. It felt like the engine was cutting out and then – on the exit – it would lurch forward unsettling itself and making it hard work to hold on to. My arms were aching and I felt shattered after the race.
There was no choice but to change the settings again and remap the ECU for less engine breaking and easier throttle response. Back in the caravan for a few hours I worked on the computer, changing the map and then copied it over to the bike.

I could only try it out in warm up on Sunday morning and I was thinking that it better work because our race was first up…right after the warm up session.


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Sunday morning the circuit was wet after early morning rain – another wheel change…

The bike felt better, but the track was sketchy, drying out in places but predominantly slippery and still wet. I had no choice but to keep the Pirelli wet tyres on and go with them, even though they were a quite worn from the day before. I knew 16-laps would push them to the limit as the track was drying and was worried that the rear may not make it to the end of the race.


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Easing forward on the grid as the weekend progressed…

 

I was on the 3rd row for the start, which was better than the day before and got away reasonably well and held my position. After a few laps, I moved up to 6th after being stuck behind another rider for a while. Then Peter Baker came past me and I had a good tussle with him over the remaining laps. It was very close and I couldn’t find a way back past him until the last lap when I managed to get in front of him with a good run on the outside at Clearways. I looked at him when I went past him and it was a drag race to the line where he just pipped me over the stripe by 200ths of a second! We both had a good laugh about it after.

Although I was a bit fed up with 7th position again I was encouraged by my lap time which had me 4th fastest; bumping me up to the second row for our final race of the weekend.


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With my rear tyre completely destroyed I had to use another set of wet tyres.
Rain always costs you money!

 

Anyway, it actually poured it down all morning and the circuit was full of standing water. There were many incidents – one of them bringing in the helicopter – and long stoppages in the other races, which meant we were almost two hours late for our race. By this time, it had stopped raining and the circuit was just wet with no standing water.

When the lights went out I didn’t get away very well, the rear wheel spun up and the traction control stopped me from getting away quickly. (I need to sort that out as my starts are usually one of my stronger points). As a result, I was knocked back to 11th place.
The race had been shortened from 14 laps to 10, so I had to pull my finger out and get a move on. It was a good race with the lads close to me and I managed to pass quite a few to finish in 8th place.

Although it wasn’t the result I wanted it was enjoyable and I achieved my personal best ever time in the wet at Brands Hatch: 55 seconds. In fact, it was a time that would’ve won the wet race the previous year. Everyone was going so much quicker. I was told later that the commentators made the point that they couldn’t believe that the pace was so fast in the wet with nobody crashing out!

It was also great to be back in the paddock again and meeting some old faces. Steve Palmer and his brother Ben, and last year’s champ Aiden Patmore stopped by to say hello and have a chat.

Looking back, I guess it wasn’t the best weekend for results, but I had to make big changes and test it them in the race. Not ideal, but it worked out well enough and I was pleased that all the changes I made were going in the right direction.


Silverstone next. I’ve not raced there for nearly 10 years. Not my favourite circuit – flat and featureless as I remember. We’ll see how we go.


Big thanks to those who have helped me so far and to all my sponsors.

Loomies Café and Shop
Wossner Performance Pistons
Vance & Hines
R&G Racing
OPIE oils
Cradley Kawasaki
TBR Performance
Maxton Suspension
OCS Engineering


Ritchie
71

Racing news

TIME TO REFLECT, IMPROVE AND MOVE ON

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The final round of Bemsee’s MRO Powerbikes Championship at Brands Hatch was not the place to be chasing points after the season I’ve had. It was a meeting to try a few different things out and focus on how I could prepare and plan for next year.
But first, it was a disappointing Donington Park round a few weeks earlier that would see my hopes of a possible third place in the championship evaporate after crashing out in the last race, on the last corner of the last lap!

 

GRAVEL RASH AT DONINGTON


Conditions were a bit sketchy during Friday practice. It was hard to settle into a rhythm as one minute it was wet, then damp – drying out – and wet again. I slid off at Redgate in one of the damp sessions and went straight into the gravel. Luckily, thanks to the R&G crash protectors, there was no real damage. Still, gravel makes a right mess of things, like the exhaust, frame, and body panels. For practice sessions I always run with the spare fairing, so I wasn’t too upset, but it’s still annoying. Anyway, I got myself and the bike sorted out and managed to get somewhere near a set-up; combining what we had from last year and what I was learning on the day. I felt fairly happy knowing we were going to see some decent weather the following day. We gave the bike a good clean, checked things over and changed the tyres ready for qualifying.

Saturday morning qualifying had me going slower than the day before. The bike was sliding, especially coming out of Coppice, the fast right hander before the back straight. It wouldn’t grip at all, and I was losing time. At this point I realised what had happened. I was using a part worn, but good, slick tyre on the rear. Donington is mainly right hand corners, so I asked the tyre changers to flip it, so that the best side was on the right side. They hadn’t done what I asked them to do, which meant I was effectively trying to qualify on a knackered tyre.


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I needed a good start in race 1 from row 4…

That set me back on the 4th row, not where I wanted to be for the races. Anyway, in the first race on Saturday my pace was good and the bike felt good, finishing 6th and my lap times put me on the second row for race two on Sunday.

During Race 2 on Sunday everything was going great guns. The bike was on the pace and I was really enjoying it at the sharp end again. Then on lap 6 of 14, I developed a serious case of arm pump which rendered my right arm and hand useless. Arm pump is something I’ve never suffered with, even in my early motocross days I hardly used to get it. It was so bad I found it hard to hold on to the bike and slipped back to 5th after my good start.

 

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Donington is one of my favourite tracks, but I couldn’t seem get going until the last race…

Race 3 was a much better performance even though my arm was still sore from arm pump, and I went from 7th position to 4th over the last 4 laps of the 12- lap race. I really did put the hammer down and was challenging for 3rd place on the last corner of the last lap. Unfortunately, I crashed out trying to make the pass, losing the front at the chicane - in the gravel again! This time scuffing up my nice bright yellow fairing. I was gutted. The finish line was in sight too and when I picked myself up, I could see the chequered flag waving!

 

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Gravel makes a mess of your paintwork, but the fairing remained intact thanks to R&G…

Although I was upset, my pace at the end was equal to the those at the front. It’s hard to accept, but in the end, I would much rather have a go at challenging for a place, even if it means going down trying, than to never try at all. My luckless run seemed to be unending again and I was hoping for better fortune at Brands Hatch.

 

LAST ROUND, FRESH START

After the racing at Donington there was work to do on the bike. The fairing looked tired after its second excursion into the gravel, so Dad set to work to make it all better as one of our main sponsors, Wossner Performance Pistons, was coming to watch us. After he’d finished it looked like it had never been down.

 

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Looking sharp, the bike was going to look great again at Brands…

When we arrived at the circuit it had been raining and the weather was forecast wet the following day for practice. Well, it started wet, and began to dry out, so I managed to get a good day’s practice in. I wanted to try a few different things out and one of them was suspension. I’ve had a feeling towards the end of this year that I might need a stiffer spring on the rear shock. We talked to Maxton, who made a few suggestions, so we bought a couple of rear springs to experiment with. Thanks to Matt, from TBR Performance, who changed them for us during the lunch break. It was a definite improvement and the bike drove out of Clearways much better, hooking up instead of squatting down and running me wide. The tyre was wearing well too, so I was happy with the way the bike was set.

 

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The ZX10-R was clearly better out of Clearways…

Anyway, the forecast for Saturday was heavy rain and said it would start at around 11 o’clock. Which was about the time we would be qualifying. I was having problems with the auto blipper on the downshift too and had to revert to blipping the throttle manually.
Sure enough, the rain came but it wasn’t enough to make the circuit really wet. I only had slicks or a worn set of wets, that were passed their best, to choose from. Well, it was not looking good for the slicks, so I put the wets in. Then, as we went out, it started to ease off which was not good for the tyres after a few laps; they started to get hot and chew up. My pit board told me I was well back in 14th place, so I really pushed it. The bike felt terrible and was beginning to feel unrideable. It eventually found me out, tipping me off at Clearways with a massive high side. It threw me right up in the air. I remember thinking that this was going to hurt and that my weekend was finished, but amazingly I escaped with only sore and swollen hand, which wasn’t bad enough to stop me from racing later. Incredibly, the bike only suffered minor damage too. Those R&G crash protectors have been really doing their job over the last few rounds! We decided to keep the spare blue fairing on the bike for Saturday and I’m glad we did, the bike ended up in the gravel again! Anyway, after a good clean up and a trip to the scrutineering bay, it was ready for Race 1.

With the time we had left before the race we went for a full wet set up as it was absolutely chucking it down and I decided to try out a set of Bridgestone wet tyres for the first time. Everyone has been telling me they’re good, so this was the ideal time to give them a go.

 

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Soaking wet. I didn’t know what to expect trying out Bridgstones for the first time…

It was most definitely the right thing to do, but with my luck, or lack of it, I didn’t want to rush into it. I took it smooth and steady for the first couple of laps and then when I got more confident, I started to go faster. The bike was very stable, it hooked up well and felt planted on the brakes. The result wasn’t important to me, but I did finish well in 7th position with a lap time that put me on P5 second row for Sunday’s races. Not too bad considering the circumstances, and something else learned for next year. Anyway, the weather was so bad all the other races were cancelled for the rest of the day. The track was unrideable with all the standing water everywhere. So, we just chilled out for a change in the caravan and gave the bike another good clean after dinner.

 

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After a hard day’s work, a good evening’s clean-up and check over for Sunday…

The sun was out for Sunday’s races, and I was looking forward to just going out and enjoying myself. With my sponsors watching from the stand, I wanted to put on a good show. I got away reasonably well, but the door shut on me tipping into Paddock Hill. Still, I kept up with the front runners up to about lap 6 when the engine started spluttering, like it was running out of fuel. I lost the pace and slipped back into the clutches of Phil Baker who passed me just before Paddock Hill on about lap 8. He pulled away to a point where I couldn’t recover the lost ground. Then, suddenly my bike cleared and started running evenly again and I finished a strong 5th with good consistent lap times in the 48’s.

Over the lunch break I met with one of my main sponsors, Dave Wheeler from Wossner – the company that supplied us with performance pistons when we built the engine at the beginning of the season. He had driven all the way down from Teeside where they’d been attending another event. He brought his colleagues, family, and some friends with their kids along – they were really enjoying it. I was determined to do better in the last race, so I thought, “Sod it, I’ll stick a fresh tyre on”.

 

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Gloves on for the final race of the final round…

This time I did get a better start and even though I was still having fuelling problems with a spitting and spluttering engine – and no automatic downshift – I kept the pace on over the 10 laps and finished 4th. It was a good fast race to finish the season with, even though things still went against me I did learn quite a lot during this weekend for next year. It can’t come soon enough now.

 

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Made to measure sponsorship from Loomies Motorcycle Clothing Shop…

I would also like to say a massive thank you to my other big sponsor Chris Cowan at the Loomies Motorcycle Clothing and Accessories shop in West Meon, who supplied me with a fantastic Held leather racing suit to match the bike and crash helmet. They’ve really held up well after a couple of crashes too and still look the business. It’s a shame he couldn’t make it to Brands for the last round, I hope to see him next year. Thanks to all my other loyal supporters and sponsors like OPIE Oils, who have never failed to deliver. Alan Garret from R&G Racing, who I seemed to have known forever, without him this year my bike would have been a lot worse off. Richard Adams at Maxton, who even though has a busy schedule at professional level, always finds the time to help me out. Finally, thanks to all my friends, fellow racers – who I’ve got to know really well this year – and family, who have always been there to encourage me never to give up. This year I needed that more than anything.

 

See you all next season.

Ritchie Thornton

Team 71

Kawasaki ZX10-R

 

Racing news

A TALE OF TWO MEETINGS

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Cadwell may have been a curse, but Brands Hatch was almost hell…and it wasn’t just the heat.

Cadwell Park

My run of unlucky incidents just goes on and on. At Cadwell Park I just seemed to go backwards. It had been a whole year since I’ve been there and it’s a track you need to dial into. Practice day was wet and didn’t dry out ‘til over lunchtime when the sun came out. I put the slicks on and thought I might be able to get a move on in the afternoon. Then, just before the session it rained again. It could be said that it was the same for everyone, but if you’d been there on a dry track day earlier, closer to the weekend, then there was an advantage to be had because the forecast was dry for Saturday and Sunday.

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Putting the slicks in and tyre warmers on is guaranteed to make it rain…

Having said that, I did manage to qualify 4th on the second row, which wasn’t too bad. That’s a good spot for row 2 at Cadwell – right next to the pit wall. If you can get away quick enough you can shoot past the guy on pole. Which is exactly what I did at the start of the race to go around the outside of Aiden Patmore to lead the charge into Charlies and on to the Park Straight.

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A good spot if you can make a quick getaway from the second row…

I kept thinking that he was bound to come past me, but I led for 4 laps and my pace was good. A couple of tiny mistakes later and Aiden overtook me at the end of the straight, coming right alongside me at Park and he went through to take the lead. I was still close and stayed in contention, but Peter Baker was as determined as I was and started to close the gap until he swooped past me round Coppice almost running onto the grass. It messed up my rhythm a bit, but with Phil Baker now on my tail I hung on and started to close down on Peter again. I was starting to think about passing him when on the run from the chicane to the Mountain section I ran wide onto a really bumpy part of the track and lost the front. Down again, I was so angry with myself, all the years I’ve been going round that corner and to get it wrong at that moment was so annoying.

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Just before the Mountain section…I didn’t know what was coming seconds later…

 Another DNF, but with a good lap time I was still on the second row for the start of Sunday’s races with the hope of another dry day.

I tried something different for the first race; a Dunlop slick tyre on the rear for grip, and the faithful Metzeler on the front for feel. On the warm-up lap I could feel the difference… the Dunlop rear has always been a slightly grippier tyre and worked well on my ZX7-R.
I got a good start again and was right up the front with Aiden Patmore only to be halted by a red flag. Just my luck again I thought. We were kept waiting for a while on the grid and we were all getting a bit concerned about tyres cooling, so the Marshalls gave us 2 warm-up laps.

My start wasn’t so good this time and I had to settle in at 7th position. It’s not easy to pass at Cadwell either, but I managed a 5th place in the end. I was surprised my lap times were slower than the day before, which had me scratching my head because I should’ve been going a lot quicker.

The last race, although I got a better start, was a similar affair. The bike just didn’t feel as light and as positive as the previous day. I could only put it down to the Dunlop rear tyre – as that was the only thing I had changed. I finished 5th again and I was disappointed with that. I should’ve done better.

 

Brands Hatch GP Circuit

This is probably the one I look forward to the most every year. Bemsee is the only club that runs the GP track. It’s got to be one of the best circuits in the country, everybody loves it, and the weather forecast was dry and sunny. Which was great, because the year before it rained constantly for 3 days!

Practice day on Friday is on the shorter Indy circuit and I wanted to try a few more things with suspension set up. The bike was running very well and since I put the new exhaust headers on, it certainly felt a lot livelier. It was encouraging to feel the difference. I achieved my personal best time too… going a lot quicker than I’ve ever done around the short circuit, a 48.2. I was happy with that and after a walk round the GP track in the evening before dinner I was feeling very confident about qualifying the next day.

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With snug fitting Arrow headers to replace the worn-out old ones, the bike felt crisper…

We missed scrutineering on Friday evening by about 5 minutes, so I had to get up early to push the bike down to the bay at 7:30 Saturday morning. It was so warm even at that time of the day and it’s a long old push for me and Dad up the hill to the scrutineering bay from the garages and back, especially for me wrapped in leathers. We were so knackered, I thought I would start it and ride it back for the last uphill bit, but the starter motor just clicked and made a strange sound, one I’d never heard before.

Me and Dad just looked at each other, and with qualifying only an hour away we knew we were in trouble. Back in the garage, tyre warmers on, we went through everything, fuses, wires, relays and the new clock I had put on after the old one was damaged at Cadwell; you name it we checked it. Nothing.

Then as the qualifying was underway, I had the idea of starting it on the roller we use to start the ZX7-R and it worked at the last minute. I eagerly rode it up to the collecting area, but the bike was coughing and spluttering when it revved over 4K. The constant attempts to turn the jammed starter motor had damaged the battery. It was at 8 volts and did would not take any charge. I had to throw the towel in at that point.

Well, we had the ZX7-R in the back of the van so I immediately rolled it out, got it scrutineered and put the spare tyre warmers on just in case I couldn’t fix the ZX10-R. It would be a tough race on the old girl, but if I had no choice, I would have to ride it to hopefully get some points in the bag.

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Ready to go, I had the ZX7-R prepared as back up…I’d done 1:33’s on it last year, but it would struggle against the Powerbikes…

Well, we did manage to get the 10-R running in the end with a new battery thanks to Rod Harwin, who had one ready to go. I also changed the regulator too, just in case.

Back on the roller again the bike would start and run, so at least I knew that I could get to the grid. It was all last minute though and I was dreading a red flag or a hold up because if I had to switch the bike off, I knew I couldn’t start it again. For some reason it would not bump start, it would only go on the roller!

Out on the grid I was so far back In P42, I could hardly see the lights and the only indication that we were about to start was when I heard everybody’s engines revving. Anyway, I just went for it and overtook a lot of riders on lap 1 to put me in 25th. From there I just had to watch out, with everyone taking different lines, and make sure I wasn’t taken out or, for that matter, take someone out myself.

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Round the outside of a bunch of riders at Druids and up to 25th from 42nd!

It was a tough race, and I was exhausted at the end of the 8 laps. Still, I managed 17th place and a half-decent lap time to put me on P9 for the Sunday’s races.

Sunday, I took the ZX7-R out for the warm-up just in case I needed to use it. To be honest, with everything that was going on it felt good to be back on the Golden Era bike again. It turns so well! It was another hot sunny day and with a new tyre on the back of the ZX10-R I felt a bit better.

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Warming up the ZX7-R just in case, it felt good…

Starting up the bike was still proving to be stressful though as it would just keep turning over, then with a loud backfire, would spurt into life. It was touch and go, but I made it just before they closed the gate.

I got away pretty well at the start with the front group; it was very close. Then Luke Dixon went down right in front of me at Sheene Curve and I had to run wide on to the grass to avoid him, rejoining the tarmac at Stirlings. Luckily, I stayed on without losing a position but the gap between the front runners was too much for me to recover. Later on, I did manage to overtake Peter Baker at Surtees on lap 9, finishing in 7th position after 10 laps.

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Getting to grips in Race 2: The bike felt so much better with a new Metzeler rear...

The good thing is, I finished the race with my fastest ever lap of the GP circuit – 1:31.2 – which bumped me up to P7 for the final race of the day. I was beginning to feel a bit more positive after that, as long as I could get the bike started, I knew I would be OK.

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The last race would still be a worry with no starter motor…

So, all down to the last race and a decent start put me in 7th place.

The bike was going well, and I soon settled into 6th place closing down Tom Norton and was ready to overtake him when the race was red flagged after 7 laps and I had to settle for 6th. I was glad the weekend was over, although out on the track it was enjoyable, the rest of it was just plain hard work.

Next one is Donington Park in September. I’ve decided not to set my sights on anything or expect too much from now on. I just want to get the best out the bike with the feeling that I’ve done as well as I can and that’ll do for me. In the meantime, it’s a weekend in the garage trying to pinpoint the starter problem. I’m hoping it’s just the motor.

 

Ritchie Thornton
TEAM 71


Photos: JTW Photography

 

 

Racing news

DIRE STRAIGHTS

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Although I’ve been to Snetterton many times, I’ve never ridden the Snetterton 300 circuit. It’s a bit like two different tracks; the Snetterton I know and then something completely different. The 300 has tight turns, it’s squirt and go with late apex corners, not really my style and a bit like some of the corners at Cartagena in Spain. Anyway, one thing that doesn’t change is the fact that this is an extremely fast track with those two long straights. We’ve built a good engine now with extra power – thanks to the help we received from Wossner, with their high performance, high compression pistons; Vance and Hines with new valves and some head work from Roland &Alsop, plus a bit of tweaking ourselves – and I was keen to see how the bike would go. The ZX10-R is much quicker now, but still feeling a bit under-powered compared to the BMWs and the Yamahas in the class.

We went up to the circuit a day earlier to take advantage of a No Limits track day, so I could get more time learning the track. It was no surprise that there were a couple of other riders from Bemsee there too. Anyway, in complete contrast to Oulton Park, the weather promised to be dry and sunny all weekend, so I was looking forward to some trouble-free racing on a dry track.
It was not to be.
It turned out to be a weekend of chasing problem after problem, and niggle after niggle with the ZX10-R. I didn’t really get much chance to settle on Thursday’s track day as there were a lot of red flags and stoppages.

 

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During the No Limits track day, I just couldn’t seem to get the time on track I needed…

 

I was also having problems with the auto-blipper that I’d fitted – it kept blipping the throttle when I wasn’t even changing gear. Sometimes mid-corner, and the bike just wanted to accelerate, it was scary I can tell you. I looked at the control unit under the seat and figured that the vibration down the straights was affecting it. I made sure it was all tucked away nice and tight under the seat. I also looked at the sensor on the shift rod and adjusted that in case it was vibrating with the constant high revs and tried it again in the next session. It seemed to fix it, although I was still worried that it might do it again.


I also noticed a tiny amount of oil around the back of the belly pan. It seemed to be coming from the filler cap and when I removed it the ‘o’ ring seal was missing. I went over to the see Rod Harwin, and we found one that fitted. He gave it to me, which was nice of him. After Dad cleaned everything up around the engine and swingarm, I took the bike out again just before lunch and it all seemed a lot better. Now I felt like I could get going without any worries in the afternoon and concentrate on my lap times. Unfortunately, I was hampered by more stoppages and then the bike started to blip the throttle on its own again. It was so bad, I had to come into pitlane after one lap and noticed that the gear shift rod had become tight on the rose joint. Dad took the whole thing off and we manage to free it with penetrating oil and some moly grease. That was the last session, so all I could do was run it up to the entrance gate and back to the garage to test it.


With the day over I felt very frustrated with most of my laps around the 1:58 mark, although on one occasion I managed a good clear lap around the 1:56’s, which wasn’t too bad as a good lap round there I believed was around a 1:55.


In the Bemsee practice on Friday I was happy to ride around at last with no blipping and no oil leaks, but the sessions seemed very short and in one of them we only completed 3 laps! I just couldn’t seem to get going! Then after the lunch break, we noticed oil leaking again. Looking under the engine it looked like it was dripping out of the oil sump plug, it was all wet around it. As we were going to change the oil that night anyway, we decided to drop the old oil out and put a new filter on – and with a bit of sealant around the sump plug to be sure.


After that, luck seemed to go against us again as some poor person became ill in the garages and the medics were called to deal with it. By the time practice resumed our session had to be cancelled so it was another run up to the gates and back to make sure that the leak had stopped. We asked the scrutineers about going on the mobile dyno to get the oil really hot, but they said it was broken. That meant that I wouldn’t know until qualifying if the leak was properly fixed or not. I was a bit worried again that night in case there was still a problem.

 

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My new leathers turned up at the circuit from my sponsor - Loomies Shop in Winchester…

 

With scrutineering done, I was looking forward to riding in my new leathers supplied by Chris Cowan at Loomies Shop the next day. Chris had arranged for another Bemsee rider who was coming up from the south to get them to me in time to use and I was dead keen to see them all finished. Made to measure by Held, they are so comfortable and look great, matching the bike perfectly.

In the morning’s qualifier, with the spectre of a recurring and mysterious oil leak hanging over me, I decided to come in after one lap for Dad to check the bike out in pitlane. He gave me the thumbs up, so I went out again and had a clear track ahead of me, which was great. However, I only managed two laps before the flag came out… which seemed very short. Anyway, second row, P6 with a 1:56 was OK I guess, considering all the obstacles I’d had to deal with.

 

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On row 2, and in P6 wasn’t too bad considering…

 

In Race 1, I got a flying start and shot into the lead, only to overtaken by Aiden Patmore going into Riches on lap 2. I kind of knew the others would pass me on the straight with the bikes they had. They just seem to have that little bit more in a straight line. First Nicky Wilson, then O’Brien, leaving me and Peter Baker to slug it out for 4th and 5th places. I was using the slipstream to be pulled along the straights and it worked.

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In front on the first lap was a great start for me in race 1…

 

It was a good race and very close between me and Peter at times, but he started to pull away as my bike started losing power. I didn’t know what the hell was going on and it felt like the back brake was on. At the end of the last lap, I was in 6th gear so early before the flag I thought I was sure to lose another place to Dickinson behind. Luckily, I’d built up enough of a gap chasing Baker to see me over the line, but it was close.


So now I had another problem to solve. Losing power felt like my engine was dying. I started it up in the garage and it revved up to full power without a glitch. Scratching my head, I had a chat with Aiden Patmore who used to race a ZX10-R. He told me that it sounded like the fuel pump. Apparently, the filters can become blocked and the pump struggles to deliver the fuel when the engine demands it. As we only have one race on the Saturday, me and Dad had some time to investigate. Bemsee boss, Mike Dommet, put out a request on the paddock tannoy system to ask if anyone could help with a spare fuel pump and one guy turned up right away and said he had a later model and if it fitted, we could use it. I checked the part numbers, but unfortunately it was different. Then the lad sharing the garage with us mentioned that he had some spare filters and pumps, he said it was a common fault and he’d changed his loads of times. When I had a chat with Peter Baker later, he also said to me that it pays to change the filter on a regular basis. You ever stop learning, do you?

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My garage buddy had loads of spares for fuel pumps, thanks to him I was able to continue…

 

So, it was off with the tank to whip out the pump to take a good look. When I looked at it, the filter was so blocked up it’s a wonder the bike could even start, let alone run. We used one of new filters from Haydon’s spares in exchange for a beer later…deal! All I had to do then was wait for Sunday morning’s warm up to test it. I felt confident though and wasn’t too concerned. We’d been there 3 days and were still fixing niggles. I thought to myself, surely that was it now after we’d fixed so many things, but fate had other ideas.

 

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After the fuel pump was fixed the bike ran so much better…

 

Sunday morning’s two lap warm up proved that the new filter had solved the fueling issue and the bike seemed to go a lot better. Not surprising really, and it was using a bit more fuel too.
Dad checked everything again, no oil leaks, no loose bolts, and no more random blips from the throttle and I was keen to get on with race 2.

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Better off in P6 like the previous race…

 

This time I was on P5, right in the middle, and to be honest, you’re better off in P6 like the day before where you can get a clear run up the inside, but I still managed to get to turn 1 in second place just behind Michael O’Brien. Then I lost a knee slider hitting the ripple strips almost pulling me off the bike and twisting my knee. It was bit difficult racing with only one knee slider, and I was gritting my teeth knowing my new leathers were getting ruined on the righthanders; I had no option but to carry on. I was overtaken before the end of lap one, but I was at the sharp end and that’s where I wanted to be, even though I slipped back to 4th place, I still managing to hold my own, staying on the pace with O’Brien, Patmore, and Wilson just in front.

 

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The chase was on in race 2, and my pace was good to stay with the front-runners…

 

I thought to myself, “Just forget about the knee slider for now, deal with it later”, and I started to enjoy the race. Then on lap 6, as I tipped the bike into the first righthander after the bridge, the bike just spun around, and I was down. I thought, “What the heck?” I wasn’t even on the throttle! Out of the race with just two laps to go, I was absolutely gutted and so upset about my new leathers. I guess you could say that the way things were going that weekend I was asking for it.

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Running well, on the pace in 4th then it all went sideways…

 

Anyway, when I looked at the bike, I could see oil again in the belly pan and it had gone on to my back tyre. What a nightmare! On close inspection back at the garage Dad could see that the oil filter had a tiny hole worn into it. The exhaust, which was quite close, had been vibrating against it. Probably wouldn’t have happened at any other circuit, apart from this one where the vibration on the two long straights lasts much longer. We soon fixed up the bike, which wasn’t too bad considering how it had flown through the air. I was also relieved to see that once Mum had cleaned up my new leathers, they didn’t look so bad either, I was so surprised!
Well, I had one more race to go so we got stuck in and fixed up the bike, put another oil filter on, this time ensuring it was well away from the exhaust, and just make sure, Dad placed a jubilee clip around it where it might touch for extra safety.

 

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Ready to go again. Just a few scuffs and a bent lever, the R&G crash protectors did their job well…

 

At the start of race 3, I was baulked off the lights by the two riders in front as they drifted together. I had to roll off and was dropped back a few places. The bike, despite all the problems, was going very well and seemed to have a bit more power now it was getting the fuel it needed. It was a good race again and as I pushed on into 5th place, I was very close to Dixon through the twisty section. We exchanged places a couple of times throughout the 8 laps, and it was good fun. I thought if I could get close enough, I may well grab 4th spot and I was so close across the line my Mum and Dad on the pit wall thought I’d just nicked it.


Thinking back now, it wasn’t really until the last race when all the problems were solved, and I was glad to finish. All that effort for just 22 points left me feeling a bit deflated on the long drive home. Yes, in some respects it was a dire weekend, but I tried to think about the positives. For a circuit I’d never ridden before it was a challenge to be up there with the winning rider’s lap times, and that was good. We learned more about maintaining the ZX10-R and crashing on the slower corner was lucky, where it could have been much worse at somewhere like Riches. Lastly, even when you feel like quitting…you’ve just got to keep on going.

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Waiting in the sun, it was great to chat and make new friends between races…

 

Thanks to everyone for your support, particularly those at the track who helped me over the weekend, it is very much appreciated. Racing always seems to throw me a lot of curve balls at times, and sometimes I think it’s only me, but Dad spoke to Peter Baker before we left; he missed two races that weekend because he dropped a valve in race 2. Like I said earlier, it could’ve been worse.


Next up is Cadwell Park. I like it there and I might even take the ZX7-R up there to play…we’ll see how we go.


Ritchie Thornton

TEAM 71


Photos: JTW Photography

Racing news

THE OULTON FACTOR

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Every time I’ve been up to Oulton Park for a track day, or a meeting like the Wirral 100 a couple of weeks ago, I’ve had a great time. On the other hand, every time I’ve raced there in a championship the place has always had something in store for me. We call it the Oulton Factor...

GSXR 600 Cup: Taken out at the chicane.
KTM RC8 Cup: Suspension problems, unsettling the bike – it was unrideable
Golden Era Superbikes: 2016 - crashed after leading the race when it rained after two laps.
2017 - crash in qualifying resulting in bad knee injury.
2018 - oil sensor leak forcing me to retire in a double-point round.
This first round of Bemsee’s MRO Powerbikes started off following the same pattern.

We had a good journey and didn’t arrive too late, but when we went into the paddock it was completely full. We didn’t have a garage to set up in this time, so we had to rely on our caravan awning. Not a problem usually, but there was no hard standing anywhere, and we had to set up on the grass. Luckily it wasn’t too wet, and we had time before turning in for the night to put the awning up ready for the morning.

I knew Friday was going to be a busy day, so we were up at 6. There was a lot to do as I’d decided to take the ZX7-R with me for a run after repairing and rebuilding it after the big crash at Donington last year; I was really looking forward to taking it out on the track again.


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Two to go…the ZX7-R and the ZX10-R ready for action.


Well, the first thing to be thrown at us was that our generator wouldn’t start. Without power we were completely screwed. Fortunately, after mentioning this to my friend, James Fearn he told us that Steve Palmer had a generator that he wasn’t using because he was hooked up to the garages. What a relief. We tried to get ours running, but in the end, we nabbed the Steve’s Genny because we were beginning to run out of time.

After a hectic start to the day getting tyres changed and swapping wheels it was soon time to take out the ZX7-R to qualify. With no starter motor, firing up the engine is a little difficult because we need to plug into mains power to run the electric starter roller on the back wheel. So, we had to run up to the garages to see my old pal Clint Walker – whose son is racing a Kawasaki 400 in the Junior class – with all the gear to start the bike. Once it started, I let it warm up – after that first cold start the bike always starts from a push – and I walked it back to the caravan to get the tyre warmers on.

Although things seemed difficult, I felt that we were coping well, and I was glad to be out on the ZX7-R again. It was going well too, but after a few laps I noticed the temperature was going up, not good! So, I pulled in and to my surprise I was on pole! I figured the problem was the radiator; it was one of the old ones that Dad had fitted when we rebuilt it. It was not as efficient as it should be, so Dad quickly swapped the rad with a new one we happened to have in the van.

Then it was time to qualify in Powerbikes. The weather was fine, and the bike felt good. There was a bit of traffic at first and I found it hard to settle into a rhythm. Anyway, my pit board showed me in P2 just towards the end of the session. So, I thought I’d give it a go for pole as I had a clear circuit ahead of me for a change. I was on a flyer. Then my bike cut out at Lodge and I had to coast into the pitlane, I was gutted! I didn’t know what the hell it was until I got back to the caravan to investigate the fault – it turned out it was a bad connection inside the kill switch. Damned electrics!! Well, P2 was OK, I guess. Front row, alongside BSB man Tom Tunstall and Tri Options ace, Mark Cheetham on the row behind me, put me amongst good company for the race that’s for sure. Once we fixed the kill switch fault with a neat bit of soldering, I had a bit of time to catch my breath and relax a bit over lunchtime.

The first race on the schedule was on the ZX7-R in the Thunderbike Extreme class and I was looking forward to it. Then it started raining for about 10 minutes and then stopped. With the wet bike in the van and not scrutineered, and no suitable tyres on it, I was worried about taking the freshly built ZX7-R out on dry tyres. However, after all the other qualifying sessions had finished, the track was beginning to dry out. I thought I’d just go out and see what it was like on the warm-up lap and then decide. It was a bit sketchy here and there, but I have been out in similar conditions on slicks and as the track was drying quite quickly at that point, I thought I’d have a go. My plan was to take it easy in the first few laps, and as it dried, I could up the pace a bit. All the best laid plans… it was not to be. First lap was fine as the lads on wets made their way past, but I was holding up well in about 8th position after the first lap. Coming down the start finish straight to turn one I eased on the brakes and without warning, the front just tucked underneath. The bike slid in a shower of sparks and didn’t stop until it reached the inflatable barriers.


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Down we go again – the ZX7-R takes another tumble…


The marshalls were quick on the scene and I had to sit out the rest of the race. They tried to make me feel better saying it was a shame that I couldn’t have just kept it going a little longer because you could see the damp part of the track, that I crashed on, was starting to disappear. James Fearn helped me push the bike back to the caravan and when I took stock of the damage it wasn’t too bad, scuffed up a bit, broken seat unit and a broken handlebar. Annoying though, as it looked mint after the rebuild. Still, I built it to race, and you must expect these things to happen at some point…. I just didn’t think it would be so soon.


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After crashing the main ZX7-R I tried to run the spare bike, but it wouldn’t have it…


All that behind me, I started thinking about Powerbikes – my focus for the year. In Race 1, the conditions were dry, and I got away well from the lights and went straight into the lead on the first lap. I was just over a second ahead of the pursuing pack and I thought to myself, “I think I can win this”. Then the race was red-flagged due to an incident at the chicane. They held us all up a Hizzies for quite a while and I knew then that it must be a bad crash. It was just one of those things, the Oulton Factor! Everything was cancelled after that and there were to be no more races that day and a re-run was postponed due to a helicopter being called to the circuit. It was a disappointing day for most of us and not finishing a race all day was very frustrating. Anyway, we were all hoping the rider who went to hospital in the helicopter was going to be OK.

Saturday’s races were going to be very different with the weather changing to heavy rain. I’ve had problems in the wet previously with this bike, particularly at Brands Hatch last year when the bike just wouldn’t grip when I accelerated out of a corner. I spoke to Richard Adams at Maxton about the problems I was having, and he gave me some advice with some ideas of how to set up for the wet. So, me and Dad made some big changes to the bike in the evening before dinner. We also got the other ZX7-R (the wet bike) out of the van to set it up and get it ready to race too. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get it to start and run properly; I think it was carburation and I didn’t have the energy to start stripping down the carbs after the day we’d had. Me, Dad and Mum were totally exhausted, so we decided to call it a day, have a meal and sit in the warm caravan for the rest of the evening.


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More like Cadwell Park than Oulton Park, parked on the grass for the weekend…



Saturday morning the rain came down as forecast; it was heavy, and I must admit that I was bit nervous trying out the completely new Maxton settings in a race. After the 2-lap warm-up session the bike it felt unstable. So, I made a few further changes altering the geometry. Now with the bike ready to go I was just keen to get this one out of the way; I just didn’t know what to expect at all.

At the start I got away well again from the lights and there was a lot of pushing and shoving on the first lap. I was stuck in 4th for a while, but then started to get good feel from the bike and I started to push harder. The bike was responding very well in the wet and I managed to pass Aiden Patmore and then chase down Peter Baker, eventually passing him to take the second spot across the line. I didn’t realise – neither did Dad, who was in a panic watching on the pit wall – that there was only enough petrol in for 5 laps. We were not informed that they had changed the race to 8 laps! I don’t know how I finished, but I was glad it was over. Second place was a good haul of points, especially in the wet. When we checked the petrol left in the tank, I wouldn’t have completed another lap! It was just what I needed after a difficult day on Friday.


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Not a bad result on a bike that was set up without a proper test…


In Race 2, I made the initial push to take the lead, but was passed by Aiden who was determined to stay in front for the rest of the 8-lap race. There was no way I could stay with him; he just took off – he rode well. Knowing there was no way I was going to catch Aiden, I had to concentrate on holding my own with the close company of Mark Cheetham. He started to make progress behind me, and I could see my pit board coming down from +3, +2 to +0 on the final lap. I knew I had to push that bit harder to keep my place. It was an exciting last lap and even though I had a couple of moments, I was so pleased to open a gap again, especially against someone like Mark Cheetham who is known for his strong performances in the wet – it was good enough to see me safely over the line.


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Happy with a solid second spot in race 2…


As always with Oulton Park it’s good to pack up and leave it behind after such a weekend. The Oulton Factor has never beaten us though, I refuse to give in to it and will always try to get the best out of any situation. The 40 points I earned offset the misery of Friday and Saturday’s bad weather and, thankfully, we had a trouble-free journey back home.

Just want to say big thanks to Steve Palmer again for the loan of the Genny, without him I would not have been going out at all!


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Back home with a couple of trophies to show for our efforts…


Next up is Snetterton at the end of the month, first time for me on the longer circuit. Be interesting to see how the ZX10-R goes down those long straights!!

See you there.

Ritchie Thornton

TEAM 71


Photo: JTW Photography

 

Racing news

AN OUTING TO OULTON

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First time out and a top 5 for me on the Wössner-powered ZX10-R.

After testing the ZX10-R at Brands Hatch, it was time to go racing. I just couldn’t wait. My first Bemsee MRO Powerbikes meeting was scheduled for Oulton Park after lockdown, and as soon as Bemsee confirmed it, all the track day places filled up!
I hadn’t been to Oulton for about 3 years and that was on the ZX7-R; the ZX-10R, with more power, was going to be a very different ride altogether. Anyway, I found out that the Wirral 100 Club were hosting a meeting there two weeks before the first Bemsee round and I was pleased to be able to get an entry in their 1000cc Powerbikes class. They also had a full day’s practice on the Friday before, so that was a bonus too.

So, we set off Thursday night and were lucky to miss road works on the motorways and arrived in good time at the circuit at about 10:30pm, which gave us plenty of time to hook up the caravan and sort out the garage space for practice the next day.The weather was superb, and the sun was out early. It was still a bit nippy in the shade though and I had to put tape on the radiator to stop the bike running cold. Oulton is a great track and so fast everywhere! It’s an aggressive track too and hard work if you don’t have your bike set up right.

First session was cut short due to a medical emergency in the paddock and practice wasn’t resumed until about 11:30 as all the medical staff were called upon to deal with it, it was quite serious and even a helicopter turned up. Anyway, when we finally took to the track again it took me some time to settle down and get used to this fast circuit. The bike wanted to wheelie all the time, so I had to concentrate on trying to tame the thing, experimenting quite a lot with suspension; the bike was airborne at times going over Clay Hill!

I was also having trouble with the traction control. When I went out on the circuit it stopped working and I had a couple of moments when it didn’t kick in. We checked the sensors, cleaned everything and then we found a broken wire that leads from the front sensor. It was a tough one to fix right near the connector near the radiator, but I managed mend it with a bit of spare wire and some careful soldering.

Then Dad noticed a guy dressed in Maxton merch chatting to a rider in the next garage and said, ‘I bet that’s Richard Adams from Maxton’ and it was. Although I’ve never met him in person, he helped me set the bike up before Cartagena and has been a big help since then. Dad walked over and introduced himself and he came over later and had a good chat with me, listening to what I was experiencing on the bike – like it running wide and wanting to wheelie. He was great and made some good suggestions explaining clearly what he thought might help. What he was saying made sense and just before I went out in the last session, he altered my settings on the rear and talked me through what it should feel like ¬¬– now that he had changed it – at certain corners. Well, it worked a treat and the bike felt so much better and more settled. I wasn’t running so wide coming out of Lodge where one of my mates thought I was going to run into the pit wall! Thanks to Richard, making a few more tweaks of my own, I was eventually able to go much faster on the bike, taking another second and-a-half off my earlier lap times.

Happy with everything – now that the bike was doing most of the work – I was ready for qualifying the next day, which promised to be another sunny one.


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Posing in pitlane and taking a break after practice, our ZX10-R in its racing clothes ready for racing…


We put the yellow fairing, tank, and seat unit on with all our new sponsors logos fitted, changed the tyres and tried to get the bike scrutineered, but we were turned away and told it finished at 5:30! A bit early we thought, but all clubs are different, I was expecting about 7 o’clock as with other clubs we’ve raced with. Anyway, after a nice meal and a few beers and a relaxing evening I was beginning to feel good about qualifying on Saturday.


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Unusual for Oulton to have two sunny days – I think it’s the first time I’ve been there without rain!


The weather was nice again and after scrutineering it was on with the tyre warmers and straight into one of Mum’s bacon sandwiches!

When we were called for qualifying, I noticed that there were some good riders queuing up to go out, one of them was Lee ‘Willo’ Williams – he was a previous Thundersport GP Elite Champion – and Oulton is his home track. I thought, ‘If I can get behind him and hang on for a lap that might be helpful’. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but he was about 4 bikes in front and soon took off on his own. He’s a bit quick round Oulton that’s for sure; not surprising he made pole. I must admit, I got a bit frustrated with myself during qualifying and only managed to get a clear lap towards the end. However, this faster lap did pump me up to the second row in P5 for the two races later in the day.


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It was good to be near the front for these two races as there was some very experienced and fast riders in this class...



In race 1, I made a great start when the lights went out. Straight from the second row I shot to 3rd place as we tipped into turn 1 – holding my own amongst a flurry of activity during the first two laps. The rider just behind me was so desperate to pass me he cut it a bit fine at times. Still, it was good to be back in the action again. Unfortunately, I made a few errors – trying too hard again – and after about 4 laps I lost the tow. Looking at my pit board, I was happy to know that I had a good gap behind me. So, I treated the rest of the race like a fast practice session, eventually crossing the stripe and taking the flag in 5th.


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My pace was better in Race 2 and I achieved my personal best time ever around Oulton…


Race 2 was a better, more enjoyable race for me, and I achieved my personal best lap time in an exciting dual with the front runners. I got away well again at the start and held on to the lads at sharp end. The bike was really going well in 4th place and I thought I had the pace for a 3rd spot, but I made a mistake leaving my braking a bit too late at the chicane. I had to sit the bike up and run on, letting the rider behind through. I was really annoyed with myself to say the least. Still, it was a great race up until that point. Unfortunately, once I had lost the tow, I couldn’t seem to reel the guy in front of me back in and settled for 5th place again.


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Mission accomplished, ready for the next round in a couple of weeks’…


Overall, it was a great weekend for all of us as the bike proved to be what I’d hoped for after rebuilding the engine over the winter. Dad noticed I’d popped a fork oil seaI in the last race, so we only just made it! They could do with a service anyway and Richard Adams at Maxton said they’d do them for us for next week. Just the job!

It was also good to see and be on the track with some of my old friends too: Jon Wright, who I got to know from the Thundersport Golden Era days, was there on his R1, Nick Williamson on his 2-stroke and his Honda SP2 – lovely bikes – and Clint Walker whose son rides in Bemsee’s Junior class, riding a Kawasaki 400; he was there for some valuable practice too.


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A few niggles maybe, but generally, the bike ran faultlessly throughout the weekend…


I’m now looking forward to the first round of the MRO Powerbikes Championship at Oulton Park on May 8th.

I’ll let you know how I get on; fingers crossed the weather is good again!

Ritchie 71

Action photos: Neil Lambert

Big thanks to all my ZX10-R sponsors for getting me this far in these difficult and uncertain times:

https://www.wossnerpistons.co.uk
https://vanceandhines.com
https://loomiescafe.co.uk/shop
http://www.opieoils.co.uk
http://www.rg-racing.com
http://kawasaki.cradleykawasaki.co.uk
https://www.maxtonsuspension.co.uk

Racing news

READY, SET, GO GET WET!

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The forecast was for a very wet and windy weekend, and for once – unfortunately – the weather forecast got it right. Having had so much wet practice in Cartagena earlier in the year and at Donington Park last month on the ZX10-R, I thought I’d be pretty much set up to take the fight on for the second spot at the Brands Hatch GP Circuit in the last round of Bemsee’s Reactive Parts MRO Powerbikes Championship.


Well, I had all day on Friday to practice in the wet on the short Indy track so I wasn’t too bothered. It didn’t stop all day, and at times it was like riding through a ford, especially at the bottom of Paddock Hill, and at Graham Hill Bend the water was running down the approach to it like a river.

 

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Taking no chances, I decided to run with the old fairing over the wet weekend…


Anyway, to start with we had a few problems with tyres. I had a couple of good Dunlop rears from the old ZX7-R left over from last year, so I decided to swap one of them after the first session for the very worn Pirelli that was already on the bike. We had to run through the pouring rain with the rear wheels to the paddock for A&R to change the tyre, which they did really quickly. When I went out in the second session the bike didn’t feel right. It was shaking from side to side when I put the power on. The handlebars were shaking wildly the faster I went; the bike was unrideable, so I came in after only one lap. Scratching our heads, we decided that it must be the tyre… as that was the only thing we had changed.

 

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The ZX10-R was a right handful shaking its head from side to side…it was saying. “NO!”


Me and Dad discussed what we should do and decided that the Dunlop rear might not be compatible with the Pirelli front. Anyway, with valuable track time running out I decided on splashing out on a new Pirelli. It was a bit sickening having to pay £200 for a tyre when I had good Dunlops in the back of the van! With the tyre changed the bike felt better, no shaking. I changed a few things to get the best I could out of it without sliding off, but I was still struggling with grip in the corners and not going as quick as some of the other lads. Anyway, I felt pretty good about Saturday’s qualifying on the longer GP circuit which, according to the weather forecast, was going to be just as wet and after a night of constant rain drumming on the roof of the caravan, it was!

 

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Saturday was no different, but it did start to dry out a bit for our race…

 

Saturday, I woke up to just light rain, so at least the track was just wet and wasn’t the running river like the day before. After a few laps to familiarise myself with the longer track I decided to push on, but I was getting stuck in a bit of traffic and as my pit board was giving grid positions back on the 4th row, I thought, “I can’t have this,” so I dropped back to give myself a good run on the final lap and shot up to P4 with a 1:48.3 lap. Glenn Walsh was on pole, and on form, with a 1:45… he was clearly confident on a wet track and would want some beating with a time like that.

 

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A late push in qualifying bumped me up to the second row…


A little later, I was surprised to see the rain easing off and it eventually stopped about mid-morning. Our race was number 4 on the list and after so many crashes and stoppages to delay us the track was beginning to dry out. I said to Dad that it was time to get the warmers on the slicks to be ready, just in case. Well, I left it as late as I could and when I saw Clearways drying out I made my choice. I don’t think me and Dad have ever changed the wheels so quickly, even though Dad forgot to put the spacer in the rear wheel we still managed it ¬– with Mum getting stuck in as well – in about 5 minutes. When I got out on the start line there was only one other rider on slicks, everyone else was looking at me like I was insane! After the warm up lap, I felt like I might’ve got it wrong, it wasn’t as dry as I thought it would be having listened to the riders who had been out in the race before. Anyway, I’d made my choice – there was no going back. Inters would’ve been perfect and a few of the other lads had gone for that option. The rest were on wets or a combination of both.
I got off to a fairly decent start, with Mark Bridger, but when I got to Graham Hill Bend – not an easy corner at the best of times – I had to really go easy and it was there I lost time and the riders on wets and inters came past me. I could recover everywhere else and get them back throughout the rest of the lap, then I’d be passed again slowing up for Graham Hill. After a few laps the tyre started to get nice and warm and towards the end of the race I was going just as fast as the lads in front. On the last lap I was catching them, if only I had another couple of laps to go I would have caught them up. It was a gamble that only paid off at the end, but it was good fun and I finished in 6th place, which put me on P3 for Sunday’s races.


On Sunday morning it had started raining again and it was heavy. Just to make things more awkward, the warm-up session was cancelled due to the amount of time lost on Saturday with all the accidents and very long delays. So, the later races from Saturday were pushed over to Sunday morning instead. It was bit annoying because I wanted to try out a different suspension setting for the wet track. Anyway, I decided not to change anything for the first race of the day. The problem I was having with the Pirellis was the fact that they didn’t really warm up until about halfway through the race, and with only 10 laps you lose so much time waiting for them to heat up. I usually put the warmers on Pirellis for about 15 minutes before I go out, but by the time we got started on the warm up lap they were cold again. In fact, I went completely sideways and nearly ended up in the gravel at Paddock on the warm-up lap! Not good for confidence. With the rain still coming down I got away fairly well and stuck it out for the first few laps with the bike moving around quite a lot to begin with, but once again I was much faster toward the end, setting a good time to put me P4 for the last race of the day, which was another gamble.

I had a rethink about the tyres and decided to put on the Dunlop tyres that I had in the van; both front and rear for the last race. The reason was that when one of the guys at A&R, who was changing the rear tyre earlier, had noticed some friction marks on the rear brake disc, like it had been grabbing on and off. Dad told me that he’d had trouble with the rear brake putting in the wheel so we convinced ourselves that this may well have caused the bike to shake its head in Saturday’s practice. In a way this kind of made sense, because mixing and matching tyres shouldn’t really cause a bike to shake like it did. As it was only the cost of a tyre change I had nothing to lose, so I went for it.


Back on the start line for the last race of the day I was keen to see how the Dunlop tyres were going to behave on a very wet track on my ZX10-R. Dunlop wets on the ZX7-R have always been good and it was something I was actually looking forward to even the though the weather was dreadful and my leathers were soaked right through. The warm up lap confirmed that it may well have been the brake pads that caused the shaking as the bike felt planted, straight and true.


When the lights went out, I got away well again and was hanging on to the leaders. The bike cornered well with plenty of grip, and I thought this is better, until I put the power down and the rear wheel just started spinning and the traction control kept cutting in. The bike was stuttering and slipping on the run out of Surtees on to the long straight, it just would not grip and I was passed by quite a lot of riders. God, I felt like coming in as I was literally going backwards. By the end the first lap I was about 10th! Not one for quitting, I tried to ride around the problem by being a little easier on the throttle on the exit. I was still losing time though, but I could make it up on the brakes and with my faster corner speed. I was knee right down everywhere with plenty of side grip and that’s where the Dunlop tyres were really good. I just couldn’t understand why they would not grip on the fattest part of the tyre when it was upright. Still I managed to have a good scrap with my old mate Chaz Beale who I’d not seen for a few years. We used to compete against each other in the GSXR 600 Trophy Series years ago.

 

If you want to see the race click here:

https://youtu.be/gzhw95LupKs

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At the flag it was disappointing to finish in 7th place as it wasn’t good enough for me to hold on to second place in the championship and to be fair to Glenn Walsh, he was unstoppable in the wet and he nicked second spot by just 4 points. The irony is, he was the one who knocked my brake lever off at Cadwell Park forcing me to retire, if only… Ahh well, that’s racing – always throwing curve balls.

 

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I was quite happy with 3rd spot in a very competitive and powerful class.


Still, I’ve got to be happy with a 3rd place. At the beginning of the year I was thinking top ten would be an achievement in this class. Although it’s been a short season it’s been a good one for me learning more about racing a powerful 1000cc machine. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and most of the time it’s been good fun. Even when I’ve not done so well, I’ve learned something new. I’ve met some of my old pals and made some new friends along the way and next year I will be racing it again that’s for sure. Not sure where yet, but I’ll start by refreshing the motor in the ZX10-R and getting it ready for 2021. Hope to see you all next year, wherever I decide to race.


Ritchie 71

 

Racing news

OFF THE LEASH AT CADWELL

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At last lockdown was over, but I can’t completely escape being restrained and thwarted one way or another. I seem to have curve balls thrown at me all the time in my attempts to get some time on the bike. Anyway, I decided to get the ZX10-R looked at by MSS Kawasaki in Colchester, so I called them up and spoke to them about getting the gearbox shimmed and the engine remapped with some time on the Dyno. The bike wouldn’t go in to 4th, 5th or 6th gear at times. It was a nightmare, and I was losing time when I last raced at Brands Hatch. So, I booked it in and me and Dad took it up to them, dropped it off, briefed them on what I wanted and waited for the call. When it came I was shocked; the only gear that was any good was the first, the rest were all worn… no wonder it wouldn’t change smoothly. Faced with a larger bill than I estimated, I said go ahead and do it – thinking how lucky I had been that the gearbox hadn’t gone bust already. That would have been a big check to write out! I’d booked a track day at Cadwell Park the following week on the Wednesday, so the plan was to pick up the bike on the way up to Cadwell on Tuesday. Well, that was the plan. I was told the gears hadn’t turned up on time, so that meant they couldn’t reassemble the gearbox for the guy to remap the engine. Sheeesh… it was all going wrong. I didn’t want to miss the track day so I told MSS to just do the gearbox and we’d work out how we’d do the remapping later.


With the caravan hooked up we set off for Colchester to pick up the bike, but we didn’t get any further than one junction on the motorway. The van was really struggling to run and showed warnings about the injectors and the emissions. It wouldn’t pull up hills and we had no alternative but to call out the RAC. Three hours later the RAC mechanic had to escort us home slowly, it sounded like the turbo was at fault. I had to accept the fact that the No Limits track day was over. There was no time to arrange alternative transport, so me and Dad spent the next day under the van stripping it down to get at the turbo unit. Filthy job, but we managed it. To cut a long story short – it turned out to be the EGR cooler valve, it had broken off and lodged itself in the turbo unit. After another day under the van and with the new part fitted we were ready. One good thing was that the bike had now been remapped and was ready to be picked up from MSS Performance. All that behind us now, I just couldn’t wait to get up to a race track – frustration was running high.


We arrived at Cadwell Park for Friday practice to find out we had no Metzeler tyres! A&R had been let down by their supplier - another curve-ball to deal with. We had front tyres, but I had to buy the only rear available from somewhere else…and it was 2 years old.


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Our faithful fan, provided extra cooling for the radiator during Friday’s practice.

Out on the circuit it was so hot the bike was boiling up during the ride through the paddock and we had to use a fan to cool the bike down after every session – 34 degrees with a track temp of over 50 degrees someone said. Phew! It was more like Jerez that Cadwell!


Lap times were down and some riders were actually going slower in the afternoon than the morning. With my tyres going off my best time was around the 1:34 mark…not where I wanted to be, but with other riders struggling to get near that too, I knew it wasn’t just me. With scrutineering out of the way and some confusion over my number, I was glad to get out of my leathers and into the shower as soon as practice was over. After that we changed the tyres for qualifying and chilled out for the rest of the evening with a couple of cold beers and a bowl of Mum’s Pasta. A nice end to a difficult day, although it was good to back on the bike again, which was massively better now that gears – thanks to MSS – were changing properly. It felt like a different bike!


I was really hoping to run with my Team 71 bright yellow fairing, but we are still having difficulty getting the belly panel to fit properly; it’s too close to the front wheel, so we had to run in blue again to be safe. We should be OK for the next round though.


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Rolling out for qualifying, it was set to be another sweltering day…

Saturday morning was still warm, but as the MRO Powerbikes’ group was qualifying early at 9:15 the air temp was at its coolest for the day. The bike felt so much better with new rubber and was responding very well. Suspension was working, the bike was turning well and I started to settle in. As soon as I got a few clear laps I just went for it. My pit board was showing me a decent time of 1:33 and P2…. I thought to myself, “That’ll do”. Front row in this group was very encouraging and I was genuinely surprised to be lining up alongside Mark Bridger who was on pole. I actually said to Mum and Dad, “I feel like I shouldn’t be there.” Still, I’d earned it and was looking forward to the race.


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Front row was not what I expected…


Race 1:
When the lights went out I was off the line well and chasing Mark Bridger who got away really well too, we were neck and neck up to Coppice, but he just had the edge and slotted his bike just in front of me. The race was on, so I tucked in behind him for lap one and was a bit too keen and made few mistakes that allowed him to pull a couple of bike lengths away from me. But I began to reel him in through the Gooseneck and when he ran wide at Mansfield I was right back on his tail again. Down the straight and on to lap 2, my pit board told me I was +0, so I knew someone was breathing down my neck. I left it really late up through Coppice and my entry into Charlies was faster than I’ve ever done it. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice Walsh coming up on the inside and we collided with each other. I was almost off the bike, but managed to hold on to it and muscle myself back on to the seat and resume the chase. Then I noticed my front brake lever sticking up in the air. When I tried to bend it back down, it snapped off. With Park Corner approaching fast, I just stamped on the back brake, quickly changed down through the gears and managed to slowly ride it back to the paddock. I was gutted, having made such a good start.


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The brake guard had been pushed up and the lever broke off, a quick fix with the spare was all I had to do.

MRO Powerbikes only have one long race on the first day, so racing was finished for me. With the brake lever repaired and a new rear tyre – this time a Pirelli as there were no Metzelers anywhere – I was all set to make a fresh start on Sunday. I spent the rest of the day catching up with some old mates from Thundersport’s Golden Era Superbikes, Andy Challis and Andy Meachin, who’d turned up to have a go in the Ultra Bike Extreme Class. It was good to see them again.


At the end of the day I went to check my grid position for Race 2 and was horrified to see I was P34 right at the back of the grid! When I asked them in the office they said it was because I hadn’t completed a race lap so my time from the standing start put me on the back row. Another Cadwell curve ball to deal with. As it happened, it was to be an exciting race for me in the end.


Saturday evening the weather began to change dramatically. One minute we were all wearing T-shirts and the next we were looking for fleeces and coats. Dad had to huddle around the BBQ to stay warm. Things didn’t change in the morning either. Cold and damp with misty, fine rain blowing across the circuit, it looked very sketchy indeed.


I had a wobble round on slicks in the warm up session to check out the circuit and it was very wet in places – at the Hairpin and Barn mainly, with a stream of water running across the track on the entry into Coppice. I kept an eye on the conditions up until about 20 minutes before our race and things really hadn’t improved much at all, but I had nothing to lose starting at the back, so I thought I’d give it a go on slicks.

Race2:
When I rolled out on to the track, through Hall Bends, the Hairpin and Barn, I noticed a dry line forming. I was laughing my head off at that point because I knew I had a good chance of pulling something out of my situation.


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Threading my way through at the start of an exciting 9 lap race…

I got a good start – considering the number of riders in front of me – and I set about picking my way through the field. It was all a bit hectic at first with the lads all jockeying for position to make their own passes, but when things settled down after a few laps I could start making a few moves. My pit board was giving me my position and the number was gradually coming down. My times were fast too, the bike was handling really well, the tyres were gripping nicely and I became more and more confident as the race went on. The 9-lap race felt really quick and I was surprised to see the last lap flag come out. I crossed the line in 6th place and set the fastest lap which put me on pole for the last race.


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I was so far back at P34 I could only just see the lights…

From the back to the front in just over 15 minutes, I was so pleased to have turned things back in my favour for the last race of the weekend.
Click here If you want to see the race:
https://youtu.be/g7LiZC4F7Bc


Race 3:
Well, it’s a lot different on the front row! A clear view of the track instead of looking at a lot of backsides and I got a blinding start, shooting straight into the lead. Once again, I was a bit too keen to get away and made few tiny mistakes, which meant Brendan Mallinder was soon putting me under a bit of pressure. Going into Barn I was too fast and I ran wide on the exit and Brendan was right alongside me down the straight. His Dad told me earlier that his bike is over 200 bhp (mine was measured at 182 bhp at MSS) and I could see it as he pulled away to chop me off, taking the lead up into Coppice. Soon after, I could sense Mark Bridger on his Yamaha R1 behind me on the next lap and he made his move up the inside at Charlies – the same spot I collided with Walsh on Saturday. This time, although we touched, I knew he was there and I was ready for it. He apologised to me after though, it was a bit risky, but fair I guess. After that it was just the three of us setting the pace up front and I was pleased to stick with them. My pit board told me I was a good 3 seconds ahead of the rider behind, so I decided to just get my lines right, keep it smooth and concentrate on hitting every apex and settle for third place – picking up my first trophy and podium in MRO Powerbikes.


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First trophy for me and the ZX10-R in MRO Powerbikes…

So, all-in-all a bit of a mixed weekend, but having been almost knocked of my ZX10-R in Race one, then achieving pole position for Race 3, picking up a spot £25 voucher prize from the sponsor, Reactive Parts, for my efforts (which I’ve already spent on a new brake lever) and my first trophy in this competitive class…I can’t complain. Not a bad weekend at all really.

Donington next, see you there.

Ritchie 71

Racing news

POSITIVE PROGRESS

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I didn’t know what to expect at the first round of the Bemsee MRO Powerbikes on my Kawasaki ZX10-R, at Brand Hatch. I hadn’t had much track time on the bike. After the dreadful weather at Cartagena in Spain, I decided to take the bike to Brands Hatch for a track day at the end of February; in preparation for the first event of the season. Unfortunately, it was a waste of time; the track day was cancelled due to bad weather and the ZX10-R never turned a wheel.

So, that was it, next time out for me would be the Friday practice before the race weekend; on a bike that I hadn’t pushed to any kind of limit. Well, we were greeted by a lovely sunny morning for a change, although it was very cold and the track was wet after some heavy rain from the previous day.

 

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Hello blue sky, where have you been?

 

First session was on wets, so I just took it nice and easy to get the feel of the bike and it did feel great to back on it again; despite the conditions. The circuit soon started to dry out, so in went the slicks for the rest of the day. Now I could really start to push it. Well, the gearing was well off for a start and once that was sorted, I noticed that the brakes were not really feeling right – they worked, but felt a bit ‘spongy’ and I was lacking the feel I usually get when compared to my old ZX7-R. Anyway, I persevered with it thinking that was just the way the bike was. I was also having trouble getting the bike to turn. It required a lot of physical effort to stop it running wide. I was getting knackered really quickly. I felt like I was doing all the work! Time to stop and think; I really had to work out how to get this bike to do the work for me. Maxton suggested more rebound damping on the front and that started to work, but it was still wanting to run wide the faster I was going.

With one session to go, I was fairly happy with the ZX10-R for now, so I took the old ZX7-R out. I decided to take it along to race in another class – Thunderbike Ultra – just to give it a run, as it had been stored in the garage all winter. It was a real bugger to start and we had a lot of helpers pushing us up and down pitlane. It eventually burbled into life and once it warmed up the old girl settled down and started to sound a bit more like its old self again. 

 

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Round Clearways again on the ZX7-R – pure joy…until it packed up!

 

I was amazed at how quickly I adjusted to it. I guess we’ve formed a bond over the years that I’ve been riding it – it felt smashing and I was soon doing the same times as I had been doing on the ZX10-R. That made me think how much I needed to be done to improve the new bike.

First thing I noticed was the brakes, so much better on my old bike and how much quicker it turned compared to my new one. Anyway, I only managed 3 laps and it packed up! I thought it was petrol at first, but Dad said he’d put plenty in. We found out that it was the battery in the end, which was only putting out 10 volts and not holding the charge. Luckily, we had a spare, so once we installed it, the bike started much easier and the tick over sounded much better. Well that was the ZX7R sorted so I turned my attention back to the ZX10R. I had to sharpen it up to compete with the Powerbikes.

 

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Some work had to be done to get the beast to turn and stop…

 

Although the rebound damping helped, I decided to change the geometry of the bike, to make it behave. This meant pushing the forks through the top yolks, hopefully to make it less of a handful for me by taking the strain off my arms and my back. Problem was, I wouldn’t be able to test until qualifying the next day. By the time we’d finished messing about with the bike, putting the wheels back in after A&R Racing had changed the tyres for me, it was quite late, so Mum whacked some food in the microwave for a much-needed meal before we turned in for the night. Saturday was looking good, weather-wise, and both bikes were ready with nice warm slicks, fuelled up and ready to go.

 

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A cold start to the day meant it was blankets and warmers as the temperature continued to drop.

 

First qualifier was for the ZX7-R in the Thunderbike Ultra Class and it went well. The bike was going great and I managed pole position. I found out later that because the Thunderbike Extreme were mixed in with us, they would be starting at the front of the grid and my class (Thunderbikes Ultra) right behind them. Later in the day – Race 2 – we would be in front. I couldn’t really understand that as the slower riders were all in front of us. Anyway, it meant that I would be starting on the front row, set further back for race 1!

 

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Top slot for the ZX7-R again…

 

So now it was time for the big bikes. The effort spent working on the bike the night before was well worth it, as the ZX10-R started to handle much better in and out of the corners. After a long, 19 lap qualifying session, I finished up well in 5th position and on the second row. It was better than I’d expected and the bike was running nicely and I started to click with it.

 

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Exceeding my expectations, I was on the second row to qualify with the big guns...

 

The first race was for the ZX7-R and I was really looking forward to it, but starting behind a full grid of bikes again was going to be difficult. When the lights went out I just drove the bike right up the outside. I was nearly on the grass at one point, but I held firm and passed loads of riders round the outside at Paddock Hill. I kept the momentum going and hit 4th by the end of lap one. It was hectic start, but it put me in a good position to challenge for the win, so I relaxed a bit and picked off the other three lads in front one at a time. By lap 5 out of 10, I was in front and although the lad behind me put up a fight to stick with me, I eventually pulled away and won the race by quite a few seconds.

 

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Ready to go on the Kawasaki ZX10R…we hope to be yellow next time out.

 

The Powerbikes race was next and I was bit nervous to be honest. There were some good machines with good lads out there and once again I just didn’t know what would happen or where I would end up. Anyway, it worked out that my race was over within the first few yards. I got a good jump off the lights only to be shocked into rolling off as Peter Baker seemed to falter in front of me. Next thing I knew, there were bikes flying past me. I ended up being pushed back to about 17th or 18th by the time I dropped into Paddock Hill. It was a disappointing start for me and although I recovered to 14th spot in this premiere class, it meant that I would be on the 6th row in 16th position for Sunday’s first race. Damn!

Well, I had one more race to go on the ZX7-R to cheer me up, but it was red-flagged after 3 laps because of a nasty crash at Clearways. Race Direction then deemed it too dark and unsafe to continue and the race was postponed until the next day; Sunday morning.

 

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Riding out of the sunset… a gloomy end to the day on Saturday after a red flag incident ended the racing schedule.

 

I was beginning to get the feel of the ZX10-R now, but it meant putting in some late-night work to improve things further. The brakes were really bothering me and I wasn’t happy with them at all. Compared to my ZX7-R they were lacking any feel and I had to pull the lever right in to get anything out of them. We couldn’t solve the problem by bleeding them, so I decided to swap the complete brake system from one bike to another. I also put a quick-action throttle on the bike too, with new cables.

Another late night, we were certainly putting in the hours and after tucking in to Mum’s famous pasta it was lights out. We actually had a bit of a lie-in as racing doesn’t start until 10 o’clock on a Sunday; we all needed it. In the morning I took the ZX10-R out for the Warm-up to check the brakes and the throttle; everything felt spot on.

In the first race on Sunday the conditions were still damp after overnight rain. Not being one to shy away from a damp track on slicks, I took the gamble on a patchy, slowly drying circuit. After the warm-up lap I knew I’d made the right choice. Problem was, I was stuck on the 6th row! Anyhow, I just set off with another good start and passed about 5 riders pussy-footing about at the top of Paddock Hill. After that I started picking off the others until I got to 4th position. The bike felt so much better, I could really start to push it and with new rubber on I was getting plenty of grip. The three lads at the front were well ahead by the time I’d settled in and there was no chance of me catching them; our lap times were pretty much the same. So, with a decent gap between me and the rider behind, I just managed my pace to bring the bike home. It was just what I needed and my confidence was boosted with the bike now turning – holding its line – as well as getting the feel back in the front end with brakes that were working properly.

I missed the next two Thunderbike Ultra races on the ZX7-R as it started raining again and they were a bit too close to the next MRO Powerbike races.

 

I was really pleased that my efforts in the first race of the day on the ZX10-R and it had pushed me up the grid to 4th spot on the second row, but it was the showers during the day that had another effect on the outcome of race 3. The track was similar to the morning’s race, so we kept the slicks on the bike. Then it started to rain about ten minutes before the start. We quickly changed to wets but then it stopped and started to dry again as I was rolling on to my grid position. There were a lot more riders thinking the same as me too…we should have stuck with the dry tyres. It was an exciting race though, and I enjoyed a real battle up at the sharp end for about half the race, but in the end, I had to settle for 6th place with the wet tyres wearing out. My lap times were quite good though when I looked at the sheet after the race and that was encouraging.

 

I’m not disappointed at all with my results on the ZX10-R; it was a great weekend all round and I have learned such a lot about the bike in such a short space of time, which is what I wanted to do. It was also good to finish the weekend with the last race of the day grabbing another victory on my old Kawasaki ZX7-R. It was a lot of fun as I had to start from the back of the grid because I hadn’t run in the earlier races that day! Anyway, I passed most of the riders on the first lap to hit 4th position by the second lap, then continued pass the other riders to take the flag by just over 9 seconds.

 

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My old pal and racing competitor from the Gixer Cup, Clint Walker and his son, Keo, who rides a Kawasaki 300 Ninja in the Team Green Juniors.

 

Overall, even though it was a tricky weekend with the weather being very cold and changeable, it was nice to finish on a high. I made some new friends at Bemsee and met up with some guys who used to race with me in the Suzuki GSXR 600 Cup many years ago. Nicky Wilson, who is racing in my class here in the Powerbikes on a Suzuki GSXR 1000 and Clint Walker, who travelled all the way from Fyfe in Scotland. He turned up with his son Keo who is competing in the ACU Team Green Juniors. It’s incredible how time flies by, I remember Clint’s wife being pregnant with Keo at the time back in the day. It was also good to catch up with Aiden Patmore who stopped by for a chat; he’s taking a break this year, which is a shame. I enjoyed competing against him in the one-off race at the GP circuit last year.

 

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All packed up ready to go home… It was job done for me and the bikes!

 

What’s next then? Well I’m not going to race at Silverstone, I hate the place and it’s too expensive, so I may well be up at Snetterton for round 4…finances and time permitting… fingers crossed.

Thanks to everyone for helping me: The ZX10-R includes - Maxton Engineering, Cradley Kawasaki, OPIE Oils, R&G Racing and TA-Creative.
The ZX7-R includes: all the above and Wiseco Piston Inc. USA, Kais, Carrillo and Nova Transmissions.

 

Ritchie 71